Easter Offering

WHAT YOU PUT IN THE PLATE CHANGES LIVES

Again this year, 100% of monies we receive on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday that are not marked as payments on pledges help extend our outreach. Please make checks payable to "St. James' Episcopal Church" and mark the memo line "Easter." (Note: If you wish to make a regular pledge payment on Easter, please remember to write "Pledge" on the memo line.) We ask that you not designate your offering for a specific outreach ministry.

This year, the following outreach ministries will benefit from your generosity:

LOCAL: HELPING THE MENTALLY ILL

A collaborative effort between St. James', Friends of Loudoun Mental Health, and the Loudoun County Community Services Board since 2010, Jeremiah's Table ministers to individuals with mental illness and intellectual disabilities receiving services through Loudoun County Department of Mental Health. Jeremiah's Table is set every three months at St. James'; around the table, parishioners engage in fellowship with individuals afflicted with serious mental illness. Your gift of $100 will pay for dinner for more than 40 individuals with serious mental illness; a gift of $350 will pay for five hour-long expressive art therapy sessions for 12 parishioners and individuals who receive mental health services from Loudoun County Department of Mental Health.

NATIONAL: SERVING THE POOR IN OUR BACKYARD

At St. James', parishioners of all ages reach out in many ways to the poor, the disadvantaged and the marginalized; it is in transforming their lives that we ourselves are transformed. This year, more than twice the number of students we have had participate in the past have signed up for three Youth Mission Trips! The Middle Schoolers will take part in the first-ever Richmond Excursion, spending four days doing hands-on outreach. The Senior High students will participate in two North Carolina Towel Ministry trips, engaging in home renovation and repair. Your gift will help fund these youth mission trips.

More than 16% of West Virginians live in poverty; this is among the highest rates in the U.S. Fully 20% of adults in that state are low-level readers. Many residents live in remote and inaccessible locations, making access to healthcare services next to impossible. Located in McDowell County, WV, Highland Educational Project (HEP) works to better the lives of local residents; since 2001, St. James' has supported HEP's work through hands-on "hammer and nail" activities such as building ramps for trailer homes to make them handicap-accessible, adding decks, and replacing roofs. The next mission trip is scheduled for July. Your gift of $125 will help cover the costs of replacing a roof; $300 will help cover the cost of building a bridge.

INTERNATIONAL: SERVING THE POOR IN COSTA RICA

Project Abraham is an all-encompassing effort reaching out to disadvantaged, at-risk or abandoned children in Costa Rica. It currently consists of three children's homes, a 13-room daycare and school center, and a multi-purpose auditorium building for food service, large school events, and Sunday church services.

The daycare and school center serve approximately 200 needy children every weekday, ranging from 6 months to 13 years of age. Children receive instruction, meals, enjoy activities, and receive training in English as their second language. By providing hot meals, a safe haven, quality instruction, and responsible care, Project Abraham is making a difference in the lives of these children.

St. James' has sent missioners to Project Abraham for three years; this year's mission trip from June 22 to June 30 has already received so much interest -- almost 30 adult and youth parishioners have signed up! -- that additional funds are necessary; your gift will help to make the trip a success.