The Vision & Mission of Outreach at St. Dunstan’s Church
We seek to act in response to Christ’s words, “Whatever you do for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you do for me.” We act as the steward of the human and financial parish resources for Outreach, to serve those in need who work and live beyond the physical borders of the church and its grounds.
Outreach Committee Guiding Principles
- We believe that through Outreach, we exchange blessings and resources that meet the needs we all share.
- Guided by the parish’s input, we deliberate about Outreach opportunities presented by the parish as a whole, our fellow parishioners, and the Pastor, and take action or provide guidance to the Vestry.
- We invite, support and encourage the engagement of parish members in activities and advocacy that serve those in our local and larger community who need food, clothing, health care, shelter, safety, justice, and love.
- We make decisions or recommendations for allocating funds available to support Outreach Ministries from the annual Operating Budget, Endowment Grant Funds, and financial gifts designated for Outreach. We seek to ensure that parish resources available for Outreach are allocated in a manner that is consistent with the Outreach Vision and Mission.
- We take seriously the importance of building and sustaining capacity for Outreach within the parish as a whole.
How to Get Involved
We invite any and all members of St. Dunstan’s with whom these statements resonate to come to one of our Outreach meetings, and engage with us around our parish’s ministries of hands-on involvement and monetary assistance to organizations doing God’s work in helping to meet basic human needs. These ministries are many and varied, including gifts of time and service, such as volunteering at local food pantries or homeless shelters, and participating in letter-writing campaigns to advocate on behalf of the poor and needy. We seek ways to help direct financial resources of our congregation to minister to the destitute, homeless, and oppressed, in our local area and in world communities beyond the confines of our parish, through the thoughtful allocation of parish funds designated for Outreach. We also gratefully acknowledge the many gifts of human and financial resources in support of Outreach from other individuals and ministries within the St. Dunstan’s family.
The Outreach Ministries Committee holds meetings 8 or 9 times a year, with its various activities chaired by parish members who care passionately about the work of their organizations, as well as their individual calls to service. We provide moral, financial, and hands-on support to these Outreach efforts. We welcome new voices and new concerns; please consider joining us!
Contact the church office if you would like to be added to the Outreach e-mail distribution list, which we use to keep members informed about upcoming Outreach meetings and activities.
Our Giving in 2014: A Report
In 2014 St. Dunstan’s provided over $20,000 to help support the activities of organizations working to meet the most basic human needs of persons in Madison and Southern Wisconsin, and in other distant locations including Haiti, Jerusalem and South Africa. Organizations receiving allocations of Outreach funds from St. Dunstan’s in 2014 include:
- Aaron’s House, a local facility for those struggling with addiction
- Backpack Snackpack Program, for students at a local high-poverty elementary school; shared with Madison Vineyard Church
- Bread for the World
- Doctors Without Borders USA
- Domestic Abuse Intervention Services (DAIS) of Madison
- Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem & the Middle East
- Episcopal Network for Economic Justice
- Kennedy Heights (Madison) Community Food Center Pantry
- Lambi Fund of Haiti
- Madison-Area Urban Ministry (MUM)
- Middleton Outreach Ministry (MOM)
- Porchlight: Solutions to Homelessness
- St. James Episcopal Church (Milwaukee) Red Door Ministry
- The Road Home of Dane County’s Interfaith Hospitality Network IHN)
- Transition Education Program, a school district program assisting children whose families are experiencing homelessness
- Whitewater Lutheran Episcopal Campus Ministry Spaghetti Dinners
- Wisconsin Council of Churches
- Working Capital for Community Needs (WCCN)
- YWCA Housing Programs