Ways to lend a hand

Do you want to lend a hand?

Some outreach and volunteer opportunities for fall and beyond

While our care for people who need our help is a year-round ministry, some aspects of our outreach ministries gear up with a new program year. And after so many fits and starts during the pandemic, some things are re-starting after a pause, while others are being reimagined. If you would like to give of your time to support outreach ministries and partners (while you get to know other parishioners), here are some ways to do that.

HELPING HANDS: CARITAS is a local organization that works with people experiencing homelessness. Some parishioners will remember hosting individuals and families in our parish house for a week each year, but that model has changed. With “Helping Hands,” St. Stephen’s will send volunteers into CARITAS shelters for three consecutive 4-hour shifts on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Duties are simple but vital to the shelter staff, such as covering the shelter desk for short periods and supporting staff at meal times. Interested volunteers will watch a video in advance, then attend training, tour shelter spaces and review the shelter volunteer handbook. Contact St. Stephen’s parishioner Betsy Fauntleroy at emfauntleroy813@gmail.com to learn more or to sign up.

FAIRFIELD COURT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Our relationship with Fairfield School is a long-standing one, and our volunteers have missed being able to serve in person during the pandemic. This fall, the school will welcome one-on-one lunchtime reading buddies and mentors to begin in late September to early October. Volunteer orientation dates began in August, but more are available in September and at least one in October. This orientation is required of all new volunteers as well as any returning volunteers who have not taken the orientation before. When you use this link, you’ll see an orange button for selecting an orientation date: tiny-url.com/Fairfield-Orientation. All volunteers are required to fill in an online form for a background check. For more information, please contact Linda Carpenter, lkc9350@aol.com.

GLEANING AT THE FARMERS MARKET: Each Saturday at the Farmers Market @ St. Stephen’s, volunteers collect fresh produce, eggs, baked goods and other items from generous market vendors who donate their unsold products to our food pantry. On Mondays, patrons of our pantry are able to select not only canned and boxed food, but fresh items made possible by these donations. Would you like to be a volunteer gleaner on Saturdays? It doesn’t take long. You simply make the rounds toward the end of the market and transport the food to the pantry in the parish house. You do not have to volunteer every week. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Anna Jones, the market manager, at ajones@ststephensRVA.org.

St. Stephen’s volunteers at Fairfield Elementary School.

FRUIT MINISTRY: The oldest food ministry at St. Stephen’s Church is our fruit ministry. Each week volunteers distribute fresh fruit (donated by you!) to residents of Gilpin Court. Through this ministry, our neighbors in Gilpin Court, who need fresh, healthy food just as we do, can have access to it. The fruit delivery comes with a brief visit and a friendly greeting for folks who can be lonely and isolated.

Will you help? The group meets on Mondays at 9:00 a.m. at St. Stephen’s to sort and package fruit. Around 10:00 a.m., they head to their destination to distribute the bags. They return to St. Stephen’s between 11:45 a.m. and noon. Please contact Janie Satterfield at jhsatterfield@comcast.net to learn more about this important ministry and to sign up.

REWORK RICHMOND: This employment initiative founded by St. Stephen’s and other partners has recently moved from its original location in St. Peter’s Church to its own offices just a few blocks away at 2123 Fairmount Avenue. The new location provides space for members to use resources and gather for meetings, and also has room to bring in interested community neighbors and prospective supporters to learn more about the program and the needs of its members. ReWork wants to show off the new office and can use our help providing hospitality for visitors there. Additional details are available on a flyer at the outreach table near the parish office and the elevator; if you are interested, please contact Nancy Thompson, ntpaperplus@comcast.net.

FUNDRAISING EVENTS: As you can read elsewhere in this edition, our two fall outreach fundraisers, The Bash and the golf tournament, will take place in September and October. The planners would love to have additional volunteers. • The Bash, Friday, September 23, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.; contact: Carrie Marshall, crmfam@yahoo.com • Golf, Thursday, October 13, from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. to help register players; contact: Nancy Thompson, ntpaperplus@

comcast.net

Pantry’s ‘choice’ model provides a measure of dignity

Our practice is becoming a national trend By Anna Jones

St. Stephen’s food pantry, our free grocery store, operates on a “choice” model. This means that the patrons who shop here do indeed shop. Instead of being handed a bag of pre-selected groceries which they may or may not like or be able to eat, our patrons walk through the pantry and choose the food that they want, category by category. A patron might choose green beans and beets from the vegetable section, a box of spaghetti from the grains section, and so on. Then, the patron can take as much free produce donated by our market vendors as they like. Our shoppers fill out minimal paperwork and are not required to show ID or proof of income. All are welcome, no questions asked. In operating this way, we are doing something special: offering a choice of great bounty to all. Our client choice model, adopted here several years ago, is now part of a larger trend of food pantries across the country who are switching to this approach for a more dignified and helpful food pantry experience.

LATER THIS FALL

We will pack hundreds of “turkey boxes” for East End families at Thanksgiving this year. These boxes contain everything needed for a Thanksgiving meal: turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, and more. As we did last year, we will include some fresh produce instead of relying solely on canned and boxed foods. Start dreaming of the perfect Thanksgiving meal now, and keep an eye out for specific dates and volunteer needs later in the fall. We’ll announce these in the Spirit (the weekly printed newsletter handed out on Sundays) and the eSpirit (the weekly email newsletter sent on Thursdays).

Anna Jones is manager of the Farmers Market @ St. Stephen’s and assistant director of outreach for the parish.

Finding different ways to serve

Are you looking for ways to get more involved at St. Stephen’s Church through volunteer activities? We’ve expanded the list of these opportunities posted on our Web site, and placed that list in an easierto-find location. Go to the Ministries tab at the top of the home page; the first item in the dropdown menu is Serving at St. Stephen’s. Or use the shortcut ststephensRVA.org/serving.

You’ll find a wide range of ways to serve others: in outreach in Richmond and beyond, in worship, in the kitchen, in ministries for children and youth, in the May Fair House, at the farmers market, and more.

Wonderful Wednesdays are back

Mid-week offerings will look more like ‘pre-pandemic times’

Wednesdays are about to get wonderful again. Before the pandemic made gathering in large groups indoors risky, many St. Stephen’s parishioners gathered on Wednesdays for choir rehearsals, Evensong, supper, and small groups and classes. Gradually we’ve introduced some elements of that pattern—we began holding mid-week suppers again in early 2022, and many Emmaus groups resumed—but this fall, we are excited that Wednesdays will begin to look much more like they once did. One reason is that choirs for children and youth are returning and their rehearsals will take place on Wednesdays. It took awhile for this age cohort to be eligible to receive COVID vaccines, and once they did, we still did not have sufficient music staff to offer choirs for these ages—until now, with the arrival of Diana Chou. (See articles on pages 12 and 13.) Also, on the first Wednesday of the month, we’ll have choral Evensong featuring one of these choirs. Evensong will begin at 5:30 p.m. Wonderful Wednesdays suppers will be served in the Large Fellowship Hall from 5:45 to 6:30 p.m. Claire Hackley will coordinate the volunteers who prepare, serve, and clean up. Wednesdays will also offer Emmaus groups, other small groups, and classes. We hope you and your family will find this a wonderful time of fellowship with one another and with other parishioners. And at least one night of the week, you won’t have to plan and prepare supper or do the dishes!