Outreach Ministry

Our Outreach Projects

2013 Lenten Alms Project

St. Mark's Center was chosen by the Outreach Committee to be the recipient of our Lenten Alms giving this year. Together we raised $3,843.06. Thank you!

Christmas 2012 Ingathering - Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who donated gifts to St. Mark's toy drive through our Christmas Ingathering. Your generosity made it possible to provide Christmas gifts for over 400 children in 2012!

Seamen's Church: Toiletries Needed for "Christmas at Sea"

The Seamen's Church Institute distributes gifts to mariners who are miles away from home during the holidays. Each gift includes useful items like hand lotion, soaps, mouthwash, etc. Thank you to all who contributed to this project; we collected over 600 toiletries which were delivered (thank you, Chris & Bob Lindmark) to SCI before Christmas. This will be an ongoing project for Outreach, to be delivered twice per year. Please place your donations in a plastic bag labeled "SCI" and place in the little red wagons at the church entrance.

Thanksgiving 2012 Ingathering - Thank You!

Thank you for your donations! Your generosity provided food for about 100 families for a Thanksgiving feast! The baskets were distributed to those in need in Keansburg through the efforts of the Soup Kitchen volunteers at St. Mark's Church.

Stop Hunger Now Meal Assembly - Thank You!

Our youth lead the way on Saturday April 28, 2012 for the parish-wide, inter-generational Stop Hunger Now meal assembly. We exceeded our goal, assembling 10,200 meals!

Nursing Home Visitation

Nursing Home Ministry brings caring, personal presence to residents of local nursing homes. It requires a heart eager to share a smile and joyful attitude, and only thirty to sixty minutes of your time once a month. Mentoring is provided by an experienced nursing home visitor.

St. Mark's Meal Program

Volunteer teams of 4 or 5 people set up, cook, serve, wash dishes and clean up at the noontime meal at St. Mark's Soup Kitchen (Center for Community Renewal) on Fridays and Saturdays. About 100 free meals are served daily to the hungry who visit the kitchen seven days a week.

Community Outreach Group (COG)

This group consists of ten member churches in Middletown and Holmdel, which operate the Calico Cat Thrift Shop, Cupboard and Pantry, the Emergency Assistance Fund, and similar projects directed to the homeless and others in crisis. COG also distributes funds to local charities.

Calico Cat Thrift Shop, Cupboard and Pantry

This is a ministry of the Community Outreach Group. Christ Church supplies building use, and is one of the ten member churches of COG. The Thrift Shop sells used clothing and household goods with all proceeds donated to supporting those in need in Middletown and surrounding areas. The Cupboard and Pantry provide clothing, household items, food, personal care, paper and cleaning products to referred clients in real need, free of charge. Christ Church participates in many ongoing COG projects, including their Back-to-School clothing drive, Christmas Gift Card project, Household Goods drive.

Thrift Shoppe phone: (732) 671-0550; Emergency Assistance phone: 732-671-8775.

Little Red Wagon Food Collection

Offerings of non-perishable food or household items are deposited by parishioners at collections points throughout the church and delivered to The Calico Cat Pantry. We are called to these simple acts of kindness and generosity in our own time and place through Christ's servant ministry example. Food is needed, especially canned protein (stew, tuna, peanut butter, etc.)

Outreach Committee

This committee makes recommendations to the Vestry on community and world needs that might be addressed through our annual outreach budget. The committee also raises funds to distribute to worthwhile organizations, helping others around the corner and around the world.

Family Promise

Ten area churches offer their facilities on a weekly basis throughout the year to host the temporarily homeless. The program is coordinated by a social worker who assists the participants with job and housing searches from the Day Center. Christ Church members perform several duties during the week we host, such as preparing meals, setting-up and breaking-down temporary sleeping quarters, attending to overnight needs, and serving as hospitality providers.

Prayer Chain

An organized group of people who commit to daily intercessory prayer for each of those on their prayer list. Stephanie Faulkner is our new Prayer Chain coordinator. Email Stephanie at cc-prayerchain@verizon.net with your confidential prayer requests, or if you wish to join the prayer team. Please feel free to call the church office if you do not have email.

Annual CROP Walk

We participate annually in this community effort to feed the hungry. Local charities supported by the Red Bank area CROP Walk include the Calico Cat Thrift Shop, Cupboard and Pantry; Eatontown Food Pantry; Manna House; The Kitchen at St. Mark's, among others. Learn more about the CROP Walk from their website at www.churchworldservice.org.

Aslan Summer Lunch Program

Aslan Youth Ministries provides summer camp opportunities for children in need in Long Branch, Red Bank, and Asbury Park. Christ Church provides lunches for approximately 55 children for two days in the summer.