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Outreach Commission
Outreach at Holy Family provides a way for parishioners to live into their baptismal vows to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ, to seek and serve Christ in all persons, to love our neighbors as ourselves, to strive for justice and peace among all persons, and to respect the dignity of every human being. The Outreach Commission leads the parish in this mission by supporting ministries on the local, regional, and global level. The Vestry sets aside a percentage of the parish’s total annual budget for outreach. The Commission decides how to allocate that money and also provides parishioners with opportunities for hands-on ministry whenever possible.
The Commission meets the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the library. Below is a list of many of the outreach programs with which you can become involved. The Commission welcomes new members and input from parishioners. Please join us in living our call to reach out to the world in evangelism, service and concern for all God’s creation.
Habitat for Humanity: Holy Family has helped build homes in Orange and Chatham Counties. When we start another home we will need help with fundraising and other behind-the-scenes activities, as well as site workers. Contact Bill Andersen.
Prison Ministries: Participants in Yokefellows Ministry leave from the front of the church at 7:00 p.m. every Tuesday, except the last Tuesday of the month. For one hour we share refreshments, prayer, and conversation with the inmates of Orange Correctional Center in Hillsborough. Volunteers are always needed and welcome. Watch the church bulletin for requests for refreshments. Contact Anne Varley for more information (See the Parish Directory for phone number). Parishioners also correspond with and visit inmates at Central Prison in Raleigh. If you would like to help, please contact Bob Leslie. Transition Ministry provides emotional, spiritual, and practical help to persons transitioning out of prison back into a productive life. For information, contact Adrienne Cizek.
The Augustine Project provides free tutoring in reading, writing, and spelling to low-income, learning-disabled students through grade twelve. Volunteer tutors receive an intensive training and are then paired with a student from a local school. Many of the tutors and many of the members of the Augustine Project Board are parishioners of Holy Family. If you are interested in becoming a tutor, serving on the Board, or supporting the program financially, please contact Debbie McCarthy.
Hispanic Ministries: Holy Family supports Iglesia El Buen Pastor, an Episcopal mission of the diocese of North Carolina in Durham (1852 Liberty St.). After-school programs and ESL classes are offered. If you would like to offer help or to find out more, contact Bobbie Armstrong. Holy Family also supports Episcopal Farmworkers Ministry in Newton Grove, NC and sends EYC at least once a year to participate in ministry activities.
The AIDS Care Team provides support and offers friendship to persons living with HIV/AIDS. Currently the team provides supper at the residence in Carrboro on Monday evenings. Each week two of us bring supper and stay to eat with the residents. We welcome others who might like to join the rotation. For information, contact Bobbie Armstrong.
Holy Family is a member of the Interfaith Council for Social Services, an ecumenical organization which operates a Community Kitchen, serving three meals a day seven days a week to any hungry person; a Homeless Shelter; a Crisis Intervention program for local families; a live-in program called Homestart for families in transition to permanent housing; and an administrative office. All these programs are in constant need of volunteers. Holy Family parishioners prepare and serve lunch on 2nd and 3rd Mondays, pick up and sort food, participate in CROP Walk and RSVVP fundraisers, and help in other ways. Holy Family collects non-perishable food items for IFC on the third Sunday of each month. Contact Bob Armstrong about the Community Kitchen, or Sheryl Forbis about food collection.
International Missions: Holy Family supports the building of God’s kingdom through prayer and relationship to various missionary efforts globally. We have mission partners in Haiti, Nepal, and Uganda, and provide support for a parish in South Africa. Holy Family takes regular mission trips to Haiti where we are the sole supporter of the School of Nôtre Dame in the northern mountain village of Molas. In addition, we hold a scholarship drive each June to support the students there. For more information contact Diane Steinhaus.
Haiti Partnership
Holy Family has enjoyed a relationship with the primary school in Molas, Haiti (in the northern mountains), through the Episcopal Partnership Program since 1986 when the Rev. Gary Fulton initiated it with Père Wectnick Paul. Before that -- beginning in 1981-- Holy Family and Chapel of the Cross took annual Spring Break work trips together to other areas of Haiti. The partnership has been characterized by mutual prayer support, annual giving from the Outreach discretionary fund to support the operation of the primary school, L’Ecôle de Nôtre Dame (teachers' salaries, tuition for children whose families cannot afford it, supplies), an annual Scholarship Drive to supplement the Outreach funds, and mission trips. Since 1999, when the Rev. Noe Bernier was assigned responsibility for the area that includes Molas, our relationship has strengthened significantly. Père Noe has visited Holy Family periodically, hosted regular parish mission trips to Haiti and works faithfully to nourish the spiritual and earthly lives of his large flock. In the last ten years, Holy Family has made an effort to address health needs of the residents of Molas with regular supply of vitamins and de-worming meds, health education materials, and periodic medical clinics.
Members of the Outreach Commission
Leslie Butterfield
Andrea Ford
Phyllis and Matthew Graham
Meredith Leight
Kevin Reiley (Vestry Liaison)
Diane Robertson
We welcome new members. Come join us!
