Outreach/Volunteer Opportunities

Always at the core of parish life, ministry takes place as all sorts of groups meet and support their members in choirs, small groups and classes, in activities and outreach work. In addition to this ongoing life of mutual care in community St. Paul’s outreach effort reaches into our immediate island community, our diocese and beyond, nationally and internationally. These efforts are guided through the Outreach Committee of the parish.  Also, most of our parishioners volunteer substantially in service to local non-profit organizations and services. Here are a few of our ministries:

First Tuesday Suppers

The First Tuesday Suppers are an outreach ministry at St. Paul’s under the leadership and direction of Brenda McDonough. The program has grown like Topsy and evolved into directions that no one could have foreseen when the dinners began, but it remains a profoundly important and meaningful experience for many of those involved. Vestryman Marshall Keys wrote about the suppers in the April 2002 Newsletter—his words remain true in spirit even if some of the details have changed.

The aim of the community suppers is to share God’s love by providing a gourmet meal, cooked from scratch from fresh ingredients, to those members of the Nantucket community who wish to come together to share food and company with others.  Guests remain economically, socially, and racially diverse, though their composition changes as the Nantucket community changes.  Recently we have had more young families than in the past.

Because 120 or more guests attend each dinner, they have become monthly rather than weekly, and there are no dinners during the summer or in January. We have been blessed by large numbers of new volunteers who commit time to prep food, set up, cook, serve and clean up, and we have been particularly lucky to have the contributions of a number of members of the Nantucket restaurant community.  There is always room for more helpers.

We do not charge for these dinners, and there is no offering plate. Generous individuals have blessed us with anonymous donations for this outreach project, and St Paul’s has not had to spend any money on the suppers thanks to the generosity of these donors. If you want to donate, a check to St. Paul’s designated for the community suppers will help us share God’s love.

If you want to cook or help serve please call Brenda McDonough at 508-228-5049. 

The God's Child Project

Beyond local giving, we look for where our support is needed in a hurting and hungry world.  Each year St. Paul’s supports the dispatch of several Service Teams to work with The God’s Child Project in Guatemala.

Contact Sally Nash if you'd like to help.

 We also contribute space on our grounds to:
 
1) St. Paul’s Cooperative Pre-school
2) Alcoholics Anonymous
3) The Nantucket Food Pantry 
4) New Life Ministries
5) The Community Network for Children
6) Seventh Day Adventists.

St. Paul’s is eager to grow and expand its ministries to serve the world in a significant way and create opportunities for interested and motivated people. Volunteers are the heart of any church.  Please get involved in one (or several) of the variety of opportunities for fellowship and ministry among seasonal and year-round members of St. Paul’s.