Scroll Down to See a Summary of 2007 Activities
Food Collection for Foodbank On November 23, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we collected bags of food around the altar for the Athens Area Emergency Foodbank. Items that are especially needed right now are dry pasta, breakfast cereals, and saltine-type crackers. The foodbank also urgently needs paper bags.
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2007 Annual Summary
Traditionally, St. Gregory’s pledges 10% of the annual budget (using a 3 year average) to the Diocese of Atlanta and prioritizes giving another 10% to local (and international) outreach. Even in years when finances were tight, such as in 2007, we have been able to maintain donating 10% of the budget annually to local outreach. St. Gregory also reaches out to the community by providing space for meetings to the Athens Mother’s Center, 12-step programs, and other support groups. Space is also designated for use by The Interfaith Hospitality Network when the families are hosted here quarterly.
Primary Activities and accomplishments of 2007:
· OASIS Católico: A porch was built by members of Saint Gregory’s along with members of the community that surrounds OASIS. The porch is used by the Sisters for after-school activities for children and for their parents. For more information, see www.acjusa.org/athens.htm
· Interfaith Hospitality Network: We continued to welcome families as a host church, approximately once every quarter. Families stay with us for one week and many dedicated volunteers spend time with the families, cook meals, drive, and spend the night. Our IHN coordination is now conducted by a small team of dedicated parishioners at St. G’s and at the Catholic. Center
· Little Red Wagon: Donations to the Emergency Food Bank are made each week as parishioners fill the little red wagon. When the wagon squeaks, it is not full enough! A dedicated deliverer takes the food bi-weekly. A dedicated collection (of some 45 bags of food, each serving a family of four for a day) in November was much appreciated, and greatly needed, by the Emergency Food Bank.
· Lenten Giving Tree: Members of the church contributed time and talent, and donated needed supplies to some of the organizations we support, by choosing activities from our Lenten Tree.
· Camp Summer Spree: a five week summer day camp for at-need children of middle-and high-school age was held for the fifth year this summer at Monsignor. The mission of the camp is to break the generational cycle of poverty and reduce school drop-out. More information on the camp may be found at www.uga.edu/aboutUGA/compete_veg_theater.html and at www.summerspree.org . Many parishioners, and others in the Athens community, support the camp as volunteers. Donovan Catholic High School
· Our Daily Bread: St. Gregory’s provides lunch at Our Daily Bread every 5th Wednesday. We served approximately 100 people four times in 2007.
· Bethlehem Ministries: Several members of St. Gregory have continued work in Haiti this year to support education, a clinic, and the biomass project in Terrier Rouge. Please see www.bethlehemministry.org for more information.
· MDG’s: The Millennium Development Goals include donation of .07% of the outreach budget to help free fellow men, women, and children from the dehumanizing conditions of abject poverty.
· Athens Nurses Clinic: The outreach committee collected personal care items and the youth groups put them together to make personal care bags for homeless clients of the Athens Nurses Clinic. The bags were much appreciated, and we plan to continue collection quarterly.
· Benevolence Market: The Benevolence Market is held in early December by area churches to highlight local social service organizations and allow donations by individuals in lieu of Christmas gifts.
· In addition to support for Outreach conducted by the Diocese of Atlanta, St. Gregory’s provides substantial financial support to many local, national, and international efforts. Priority is given to organizations working toward systematic change to address poverty, economic justice, and social justice.
All St. Gregory’s members and friends are encouraged to participate in our Outreach Program; please contact the church office if you would like to learn more about Outreach at St. Gregory’s.
