The activities of the Commission on Mission represent one of the principal ways St. Paul’s strives to fulfill the second of Our Lord’s Great Commandments, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”  The Commission does this by allocating funds provided through the parish’s operating budget, and developing activities that offer parishioners opportunities for charitable giving and direct service to those in need. In determining which activities to undertake, the Commission considers the following:

• Does the activity benefit those truly in need?  Are we helping “the least of Jesus’ brethren?”
• Can we make a real difference, or are we spreading our limited resources so thinly that we lose the ability to make an impact?
• Is there an appropriate balance between domestic and international initiatives?
• Is there an Episcopal/Anglican connection?
• Does the activity offer the possibility of personal contact/involvement/service?  This is particularly important in activities undertaken in the Washington, DC area.
• In the case of international activities, do we have an appropriate partner through which to channel funds?  Is it a recognized charity?  Does it monitor the use of funds provided to ensure they are being spent for the intended purpose within a reasonable amount of time?
• Can we readily explain to the parish what is being achieved and why it matters?  Can we account to the Vestry for the use of all Mission funds, both those provided in the operating budget and those we raise?

Grate Patrol

Grate Patrol is a mission unique to Saint Paul’s Parish that has provided uninterrupted weekend breakfast distribution to the homeless for 29 years. Grate Patrol serves Foggy Bottom between Georgetown and the Canadian Embassy near the National Gallery of Art. In cold weather, many of the people whom we serve sleep outside on heating grates, hence the name of the program. Click here to learn more or get involved.

First Fridays

On the first Friday of each month, St. Paul’s provides an evening meal for 100 homeless persons to be delivered from a special Salvation Army vehicle. Help is needed in preparation (5:30 - 7:00 pm in the church kitchen). Contact Nancie Majkowski (nmajkows@ngs.org, 202-857-7115 or 301-513-9563) or Kate Eikel (kate.eikel@gmail.com, 617 767 8931).

Food Drive

St. Paul’s runs a continuing food drive that makes monthly deliveries of non-perishable food items donated by parishioners to the Foggy Bottom Food Pantry. Anyone can leave a donation in the container at the rear of the nave. The Pantry’s current priorities are canned fruit and vegetables (green beans, peas and collard greens) and peanut butter.

Community of St. Mary, Malawi

We help a community of Anglican nuns in Luwinga, Malawi—one of the poorest countries of the world—to become self-sustaining through the sale of chickens raised on their farm, and build an indigenous African community that ministers to its own people in ways appropriate to their culture. For more information on the Community of St. Mary and on the Malawi mission, you may wish to visit their Web site at http://www.stmaryseast.org/.

Middle East Missions

Working through the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, St. Paul’s supports two of the institutions of that Diocese: St. Saviour’s School in Zarqa, Jordan and the al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza.  Funds sent to St. Saviour’s provide scholarships for needy children at this co-educational school that is open to both Muslim and Christian students. Al Ahli Hospital similarly serves the population of the Gaza Strip, irrespective of religion or ability to pay.

Washington Interfaith Network

St. Paul’s is a member of the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN), a broad-based, multi-racial, multi-faith, strictly non-partisan, District-wide citizens’ power organization, rooted in local congregations and associations. WIN is committed to training and developing neighborhood leaders, to addressing community issues, and to holding elected and corporate officials accountable in Washington, DC. WIN’s 48 dues-paying members, including St. Paul’s and nine other Episcopal parishes, represent 25,000 families in every section of the District and reflect its theological, racial, geographic, and economic diversity. WIN engages leaders across the divides of race, culture, income, faith, and/or neighborhood to initiate public action on their issues (e.g. affordable housing, public safety, youth, etc.) and to partner with and hold the government and corporate sectors accountable for addressing these issues.