PARTNERS AND PROJECTS
The following are organizations and projects which St. Paul’s members participate in and support.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the New England Synod are the larger groups of churches and ministries to which we belong. We provide generous support as a tithing congregation.
The Lutheran World Federation, Lutheran World Relief and Lutheran Disaster Response are global agencies and expressions of the larger Lutheran Church and it’s work.
Ascentria Care Alliance. With a 142-year history and 1,400 employees, this social services organization serves over 20,000 people in 60 locations throughout New England. It assists children, youth and families; persons with developmental disabilities and deafness; persons who are economically disadvantaged; refugees, including unaccompanied refugee minors; and older adults. Formerly named Lutheran Social Services of New England, it is part of a Lutheran Services in America, one of the largest health care and human services networks in the country, touching the lives of 1 in 50 Americans every year.
Camp Calumet on Lake Ossipee, New Hampshire is a summer camp and conference center in a beautiful outdoor setting with year round programming, much used by members of Saint Paul.
Global Health Ministries collects and distributes health kits, including midwife kits, produced by congregations such as St. Paul. We’ve been sending birth kits for ten years.
Harvard Square Homeless Shelter, housed at nearby University Lutheran Church in Cambridge, is a place our members volunteer to serve meals and cover work shifts especially during Harvard’s vacations when student workers are unavailable.
The Housing Corporation of Arlington provides low- and medium-income families with safe, affordable housing. St. Paul supports this organization both financially and through projects such as this year’s spring cleanup work day. St. Paul members contribute weekly to the Arlington Food Pantry, now called Arlington Eats.
New England Seafarers Mission provides chaplains and other services to crews of ocean-going ships while they dock in Boston. St. Paul youth and adults volunteer their time to help provide phone banks, money wiring and other services important to the many seafarers who arrive in Boston.
Village Help for South Sudan: St. Paul has supported this organization in building and starting a school and health clinic in the Sudanese village of Wunlang. In 2001 Saint Paul was the center of the resettlement of 40 refugee children from Sudan. We continue to support the school in what is now war torn South Sudan.
Refuge Point is a “lifeline for forgotten refugees,” and St. Paul is proud to have donated significantly to helping get this non-profit off the ground.
St. Paul supports Fair Trade, helping farmers and craftspeople in developing nations to receive fair prices for their goods. In addition to having held our first “Fair Trade Fair” in 2009, providing a marketplace for such goods, we regularly help sell Equal Exchange coffees, teas, and hot chocolate.
For more information on getting involved, or to share ideas for new projects, please contact the social ministry committee.