Special Ministries and Outreach at St. David’s Church:

Outreach ministry at St. David's has been central since the church began. In keeping with this basic concept, the church Vestry established the Special Ministries Committee to oversee special ministries and to serve as a conduit through which church monies are expended in support of worthy causes. The Committee distributes funds that are allocated to it from the annual church budget, or from special gifts, or from various fund raising efforts.

In addition, much of the Committee's time is spent evaluating donation requests from a variety of sources, locally from Cape Cod, nationally from within the United States, and internationally from the larger world. All charitable requests are carefully evaluated and researched before they are honored. A special effort is made to keep an updated list of all approved agencies, and additions or deletions are made when deemed appropriate.

SPECIAL MINISTRIES

 (from the 2011 Annual Report)

The Special Ministries Committee, under the chairmanship of Bev Parke, has worked diligently to faithfully distribute the interest earnings from 3.5 of the DIT funds which have been designated for outreach. Other members of the committee are Carol Carlson, John Brewer, Priscilla Conner, Judy Duguid, Len Heaney, Sue Reid, and Linda White. As the poor economy has created many more needs it was the decision of the committee to concentrate more on local needs while still supporting the national and international communities to the best of our ability.

The committee has spent a great deal of time researching the various causes St. David’s has supported over the years. As times change, so do many of the organizations. With this in mind we have prayerfully considered our goals and have vetted organizations that no longer meet our standards. This has been a time-consuming, but very valuable, effort. In 2011 we were able to disburse $10,273.00 to a wide variety of worthwhile causes.  Locally we contributed to Independence House, Hyannis Chapter of the Red Cross, Guindon  House, Duffy Health Center, Homeless not Hopeless, A Baby Center, Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod, Hospice and Palliative Care of Cape Cod, Champ Homes, Housing  Assistance Corporation, Samaritans on Cape Cod, Yarmouth Food Pantry, St David’s Paper Pantry, Angel House, CapeAbilities, Cape Cod Times Needy Fund, Christmas gift bags for the homeless, Howard Masonic Lodge Angel Fund and other local organizations.

Nationally, some of the organizations whose ministries we supported included the American Bible Society, Wounded Warriors, Angel Flight NE, Pan Mass Challenge, Women’s Lunch Place, and the Diocese of Western Massachusetts Bishop’s Fund for tornado relief.

Internationally we were able to help the Center for Victims of Torture, St. David’s Cathedral in Wales, and Episcopal Relief and Development.
Special Ministries Committee members are privileged to have the responsibility of distributing some of the outreach that St. David’s is known for and look forward to continuing the work of the church in the wider community. If you would be interested in serving on the committee or have an organization that you feel is worthy of being considered for a donation, please contact one of the committee members.

Respectfully Submitted,

Beverly Parke
Chair, Special Ministries Committee