Adopt A Family Christmas Project
We furnish Christmas for 25 to 35 families each year which include our Angel Food Families, Forever Families, and names of families provided by the resource center. Beginning the first of December volunteers start shopping for clothes for each child in the family. Clothes and shoes are given to each child in the family, regardless of age. The children also receive toys and/or games, or other age appropriate items. Each child’s gifts are wrapped and set aside by family. After church the Sunday prior to delivery on Saturday parishioners box food. Each family receives three boxes of food, plus fruit, onions, potatoes, a roasting hen and ham. The Saturday prior to Christmas clothes, toys, and food are personally delivered to the homes by members. In addition to the families, we also furnish food boxes to approximately 15 senior citizens.
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Angel Food
For over eight years, St. James has participated in a food ministry in our local area by providing boxes of meat, vegetable and other staple foods to families who need assistance. Each month the food is purchased with outreach funds and designated donations of parishioners and boxed by congregation members. Special financial donations from congregation members and other area residents through St. James provide additional food boxes at Thanksgiving and at Christmas, food is provided with funds raised through the church’s annual golf tournament for Adopt-a-Family. The names of families that receive assistance are provided to us by our parishioners, the Family Resource Center, or other reliable sources in evaluating need. These families are currently having a difficult time financially, and need assistance in providing food for the family. Some families are supported on a regular basis and others on an emergency basis. At the end of the year a team evaluates the status of the families, and adjustments are made in the amount of aid.
The cost of a box is approximately $35. Our members go to the staging area one Saturday a month, pack the boxes and deliver them to the families, where they have an opportunity to offer prayer and encouragement and show God’s love and the concern of the members of the church.
The cost of a box is approximately $35. Our members go to the staging area one Saturday a month, pack the boxes and deliver them to the families, where they have an opportunity to offer prayer and encouragement and show God’s love and the concern of the members of the church.
Backpack Program
St. James gets the "Back to School" list from Kemp, Eustace, Mabank, and Malakoff, to know what items are needed to fill the backpack. Parishioners select a name off the "Backpack Tree" and purchase the actual backpack for that child. Then the magic shoppers go to work getting all of the necessary items to fill the backpacks. Once the shoppers have finished their job the backpack fillers come into the parish hall and go to work. Once done, the backpacks are delivered to the families.
Carter Blood Care
St. James has sponsored an annual blood drive since 2003. Members participate by donating blood or serving as a host for the morning or afternoon. In addition to our own people who faithfully support this event, there are a number of people from the neighborhood and community who participate. This is one more opportunity we have to be a visible presence in the community, serve our fellow man with life saving blood, and welcome people to our church.
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Kairos Prison Ministry
Kairos is a Greek work meaning a special time, one that cannot be defined by a watch or calendar. St. James Church has been involved with the Kairos program for over 20 years. Kairos Prison Ministry works primarily in maximum security units in an effort to help create and maintain a Christian environment with the unit. This ongoing program revolves around two four-day retreats supported by weekly reunion meetings for the residents who have been through the program.
Members of St. James have served on teams both as clergy and lay members at the Beto Unit near Palestine since the program was introduced there in 1988. Kairos offers a long-term commitment both to the residents and the team who continues to visit with the men on a monthly basis. As a congregation, we support the ministry with our prayers, with homemade cookies and financially. A typical team is made up of about 60 men and women. The men go into the unit and work directly with the residents while the outside team of women prays and prepares meals that are delivered and served during the course of the weekend. |
We see these weekend retreats as an example of God’s special time to work in the hearts of men in need. Kairos weekends are also held in women’s units and juvenile units as well. A program known as Kairos Outside is designed to help women who have loved ones in prison deal with the issues that incarceration causes for the entire family. Several members who have staffed a Kairos also visit the prison chapel one day a week for ongoing classes and activities.
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One Man's Treasure Clothes Closet
The mission of this faith based organization is to assist indigent men recently released from prison who come to the Dallas area, including Henderson and Kaufman counties, by providing them with clothing for their daily needs and that is also appropriate for job interviews and employment. The ministry was founded in 2005 to follow Christ’s call in Matthew 25:36-40. A unique aspect of the program is that the set of clothing is delivered to the client by a male volunteer (called “a shepherd”) who visits with him, provides him with resources for his other needs, and encourages him with prayer at this critical time in his reentry. In 2016, a record 1398 men were served by the ministry and it is projected that over 1500 will receive clothing in 2017. The 13% recidivism rate for those being helped by this program is 52% lower than the norm. The clothes closet is supported by donations of gently used or new clothes, cash, and fundraisers throughout the year.
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St. James supports and assists with a fish fry to provide financial support to the organization. Several of the men of St James serve as shepherds, delivering clothing to clients. The Daughters of the King have addressed prayer cards which are included with each set of clothing and have assisted at the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas annual convention coat drive. More information about this ministry can be found at www.onemanstr.org.
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Prayer Blanket Ministry
We receive prayer requests from our parishioners, and from members of the community, for people whom they know are facing a serious, and sometimes fatal, illness. Fleece fabric is cut into a square and strips are cut around the edges. The blanket is placed in the back of the nave. As people enter, they stop at the blanket, say a prayer for that person, and tie a knot in the fringe. When all the knots have been tied, a label is placed on the blanket with the person’s name stating they were lifted up in prayer by members of St. James. The blanket is placed on the altar, blessed, and delivered to the recipient.
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