Outreach Committee

The Outreach Committee has supported local mission and outreach projects, including holding a community blood drive, providing back-to-school supplies to local Hispanic students, having a “Blue Jean Round Up” to collect new and used denim jeans for Hope Chest, and collecting ‘wish list’ items for the local homeless shelter. The committee also recently recommended disbursements from the St. James Foundation’s local mission fund to provide summer camp scholarships for needy children, and provided educational materials to increase awareness and funding to support the Millennium Development Goals.

St. James Lunch Program

In operation since December, 1983, the St. James Lunch Program provides a hot mid-day meal to 90-135 clients every Saturday, Sunday and national holiday in the undercroft of the church.

Meals are prepared by ecumenical teams of highly dedicated volunteers from fourteen area churches. Cooking teams represent several Catholic, Episcopal, Congregational, Methodist, Lutheran, and Brethren congregations from in and around Lake County. St. James’ parishioners currently maintain two cooking teams, (one adult and one youth) and provide program and volunteer coordination, budgeting, grant writing, and pantry stocking.

The Lunch Program also provides area school students with volunteer opportunities, to fulfill their community service requirements for confirmation, youth group, graduation, and service organizations, such as 4-H, scouting, and National Honor Society. Many misdemeanor and felony offenders have also been scheduled by the local Municipal and Common Pleas Courts to serve community service hours by volunteering at the St. James Lunch Program.

The Executive Council of the National Episcopal Church affirmed and designated the St. James Lunch Program as a Jubilee Ministry Center of the Episcopal Church in January of 2003. The Lunch Program was the fifth such outreach ministry chosen for this distinction in the State of Ohio.