Outreach

God is always moving in God's world.  Our job as Christians is to learn to see what God is up to and get on board with that.  That's what we call mission.  Below are some of the places we see God working, and ways you can get on board, too.

Outreach Is…

Seeking to serve others in the name of Christ.

  • We love spending time with the Darby Mission in Darby Borough.  The Darby Mission runs after-school programs, and hosts a meal at the Darby Borough Recreation Center every Tuesday night. We conduct monthly food drives to provide our “assigned” grocery item to the Darby Mission Food Giveaway on the third Wednesday of each month. We love to participate and help out any way we can, every time we can.  Email us to find out how you can help.

  • We support Project Share Recovery Learning Center by preparing and delivering bagged lunches on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of every month. We also distribute Advent bags at the beginning of the Advent season which contain all sorts of personal necessities.

  • In collaboration with House Cup Coffee Roasters, we have developed our own coffee blend - Apostle's Cup. All profits from coffee sales go directly to support our friends at the Darby Mission.

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’

Matthew 25:37-40

The Holy Apostles Outreach Ministry Team is always looking for more volunteers to help with the various projects we’ve undertaken. Whether you can give 1 hour a month, or 10 hours per week, please let the team know of your interest and availability and we’ll get you connected!

Helping others is one of the best ways to show God’s love to the world.

Current Projects

The Darby Mission is a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania that serves the community of Darby Borough through community meals, feeding programs, after school programs, and innovative youth initiatives. Holy Apostles is a committed partner of the Darby Mission. We have been enriched by our ongoing friendship with our neighbors and friends in Darby, and proud to host community meals, and help spread God’s love in any way we can.

In addition, all proceeds of every bag of Apostles Cup coffee sold goes directly to the support the work of the Darby Mission. Get yours today from the church office, or directly from House Cup Coffee Roasters of Havertown.

Darby Mission

Food Giveaway Schedule:

The Darby Mission Food Giveaway is held on the third Wednesday of each month. We collect our “assigned” items through the Tuesday before and then transport the items to the mission the morning of the giveaway. Assistance is always welcome in the loading of the vehicles and driving the supplies down to the Darby Rec Center. As of September 2024, we are collecting specified personal care items for middle school youth in addition to the designated food item(s).

  • Through November 20th

    • Cranberry Sauce & stuffing mix; Toothpaste

  • Through December 18th

    • Stuffing mix & Canned corn; Deodorant/Antiperspirant

You can leave your donations:

  • on the Outreach shelves in the narthex closet

  • in the CANestoga wagon in the office hallway

  • ship them directly to the church Attn: Outreach

If you need assistance getting your donations to the church, please contact the Outreach Team to arrange transport

Project Share

Project Share Recovery Learning Center offers self-help, mutual support, information and referral, peer support, and vocational and social integration into the community. Classes teach practical skills such as budgeting and other life skills to reintegrate back into the community and support the individual’s recovery process. Project Share replaced our former mission partner “Connect by Night” which was discontinued as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We provide regular lunch delivery for the clients at Project Share, an Upper Darby organization providing daytime shelter and skills training for those in need. Beginning in January 2024, lunch deliveries will be on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month.

We also create “Advent Bags” - canvas bags filled with personal care items, hats, scarves, hand warmers and such for distribution to the Project Share clients prior to the start of the Advent season. The 2023 collection period has ended and bags will be distributed in the next week. It’s never too early to begin stockpiling reserves for next year…

  • Sandwiches for 50 - We like to offer some variety to the every-other week lunches we provide. When you sign up for Sandwiches, please let us know your preference in the “My Comment” field of the SignUpGenius page. Here are some popular options for the “sandwich” portion of our lunches, but feel free to make your own suggestions!

    • Cold cut sandwiches for 50

    • Grilled cheese sandwiches for 50, wrapped in wax paper for easy reheating

    • Soup or chili for 50

    • Sponsor the purchasing of hoagies from Centrella’s ($125.00)

    • Sponsor the purchasing of pizzas ($160.00)

  • Sweet Treats for 50 - there are two slots for each lunch. You may choose to make treats for 25, or sign up in both slots to make treats for everyone.

  • Apples or Oranges for 50 - there are two slots for fruit for each lunch as well. You may choose to provide fruit for 25, or sign up in both slots to provide it all. You may choose to provide different fruits if you prefer.

  • Tea Bags - provide one box of tea bags

  • Coffee - sponsor 2 bags of Apostles Cup for the lunch ($30)

  • Cold Beverages - provide three gallons of Tea Cooler (iced tea/lemonade mix) from Swiss Farms, or 3 gallons of iced tea or lemonade from the vendor of your choice.

  • Coordinator - This person will coordinate with those providing the elements of the lunch and arrange for transport down to Project Share location by 11:30 on the date of the lunch. The actual transport - picking up items from church, delivering, and return to church takes 30-40 minutes. If you are the coordinator, you can also request that items be dropped at your home for your convenience.

  • Driver - This person will work with the coordinator to load up all the lunch elements and deliver them to the Project Share building at 72nd and Court Streets in Upper Darby.

Project Share Lunches

You can use our SignUpGenius page to volunteer for any part of the scheduled lunches through the end of the year, or contact the Outreach Team about how you would like to contribute and we can sign up for you.

Dates for upcoming lunches:

  • November 26

  • December 10 & 23 (Monday)

Advent Bags

We provide Advent Bags to the clients of Project Share around the 1st Sunday of Advent which are filled with personal care essentials, snacks and warm hats, gloves and scarves. For 2024, we have set up a schedule of collection items throughout the year, rather than trying to do all our collecting in the first three weeks of November. Our aim is to deliver the bags to Project Share by the 1st Sunday in Advent, which in 2024 is December 1st.

Your donations of any items (except snacks) will be gratefully accepted at any time through the year, but this list shows what we are concentrating on for each month. Please see Exceptions notes below.

February - Toothbrushes, toothbrush covers/cases, toothpaste

  • February Update: We have plenty of toothbrushes and covers/cases and toothpaste

March - Hair brushes, hair combs

  • March Update: We have met our quotas for these items!

April – Backpacks – please get the ones specified in Amazon list (see Exceptions)

  • April Update: We are lagging a bit in our collection numbers towards 50 backpacks; we could still use about 20 more

May – Bar Soap, hand sanitizer, soap travel cases

  • May Update: We need more hand sanitizer (40); we are caught up on soap travel cases

June – Hand/skin Lotion, wash cloths

  • June Update: We need more lotion (40). We have collected our quota for washcloths

July – shampoo, quick dry travel towels

  • July Update: No more shampoo, please. We are lagging in quick dry travel towels (40)

August – mouthwash (no alcohol), Deodorant, Antiperspirant

  • August Update: We have fallen behind in our collections with late-summer vacations. Still need plenty of mouthwash and deodorant/antiperspirant

September – socks, hand & foot warmers

  • September Update: We have socks galore - thank you! We still need plenty of hand & foot warmers, please.

October – hats/gloves/scarves, contributions towards long johns (see Exceptions)

November – snacks – bags of pretzels, granola bars, trail mix, etc. – single serve size (see Exceptions)

An Amazon list has been provided and you can access it via the QR code above or at https://a.co/5JViB7B . You do not have to purchase from Amazon or even purchase the brand specified. The list is a way to make shopping easier and to inform you of the type of size of items we are looking for.

EXCEPTIONS:

  • Backpacks: We would like all the backpacks to be the same model, so for those purchases, please use the brand specified in the Amazon list. We have been asked to stick with muted colors: black, gray. and blues.

  • Long johns: We will be accepting contributions towards this item as we will be buying specified sizes and quantities.

  • Snacks: Due to food storage issues, please do not send snack items prior to November.

Items can be left on the Outreach shelves in the narthex, in the CAN-estoga wagon in the office hallway, and/or in the back pews on the Eagle Lectern side of the church. If shipping items to the church, please mark them as Attention: Advent Bags

Questions? Contact the Church Office

O God, by whose word all things were created and by whose Spirit all things are sanctified, pour your blessing upon these advent bags and all their contents, that they may be a blessing to all those to whom they are given. Let them be a token of your love and a reminder of your grace. And, Gracious God, we ask your heavenly benediction on those who contributed to these bags in a spirit of charity, and all those who generously give for the benefit of others in imitation of you, merciful Father, who has given us all things, even your Son for our salvation. All this we ask in the powerful name of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.