Grace-St. Luke’s Parish Vision for Outreach is reaching beyond our internal parish life to serve God’s people and the wider community through acts of charity and volunteer opportunities to further the mission of a particular ministry, agency, or organization. The mission of the GSL Outreach Committee is to:
. . . to help develop, coordinate, and promote opportunities for Grace-St. Luke’s parishioners to continue the work of Christ through actively serving the world in God’s name. This means using every means available to help parishioners understand the Gospel imperative to feed the hungry, clothe and shelter the needy, care for the sick and visit the imprisoned, as well as the Christian call to be an instrument of healing in our broken world.
Servant Ministry Partners are the agencies and programs (below) supported by GSL through which we serve our neighbors, beyond and within its doors. Our support is derived from funds the Vestry provides for Outreach, donations designated for Outreach ministries and clergy discretionary funds to further the mission of these agencies and programs. Ministry Contacts are available in to assist interested individuals and households with identifying ongoing or seasonal opportunities to sign up and serve.
Daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal opportunities are available to support both our Servant Ministry Partners and individual faith journeys. To get involved, Volunteer Contact information for each service organization is provided below or please contact a member of the parish outreach leadership.
Vestry Commissioner for Outreach: Jonathan Large (jonathan.large at musowls.org)
Outreach 2020 Team Leader and Assistant Team Leader: Appointed by the Vestry Commissioner
Staff Resource: Linda Stine, Parish Administrator (lstine at gracestlukes.org)
Clergy Resource: The Reverend Ollie V. Rencher, Rector (orencher at gracestlukes.org)
The Clergy and Lay Leadership for Outreach encourage everyone at Grace-St. Luke’s to find a place to serve our neighbors, and we have ample ways to do so with a wide range of Servant Ministry Partners. Still not sure how to get involved? Contact one of the Outreach Ministry members or a member of the Clergy. They would be happy to help you identify where your time, talent, and treasure can be used as forms of servant ministry.
Grace-St. Luke’s More-Than-A-Meal hospitality ministry provides fellowship and a healthy, hot dinner in Trezevant Parish Hall every Sunday at 4:00 p.m. The poor, needy, and homeless of all ages experience dignity, Jesus’s love, hot meals on plates, piano music, and conversation and participate in the Prayers of the People before leaving at 5:00 p.m.; some remain for the 5:30 p.m. worship service in the nave. To serve our 100+ guests each week (5,000+ per year), adult, youth and children volunteers offer support for cooking, set-up, greetings, serving, and clean-up.
Team Captains: 1st Sunday: Jonathan Large (jonathan.large at musowls.org); 2nd Sunday: Mike Davis (mwdavis at gmail.com); 3rd Sunday: Ruthie Lentz (rlentz at comcast.net); 4th Sunday: Edith Heller (hrheller3 at comcast.net); 5th Sunday: Murray McKay (murraymckay at comcast.net)
Grace-St. Luke's Food Pantry serves individuals and families in need by distributing groceries provided through the Mid-South Food Bank and donations from parishioners, students at GSL School, and other friends of Grace-St. Luke’s. Volunteer opportunities include packing, distributing or picking up food.
Packers: Mondays from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and flexible hours throughout the week starting Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m.
Contact Juan Fuentes juanjf7777 at aol.com or Paula Sappington paula.sappington at hilton.com
Distribution: Mondays and Tuesdays from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Contact Juan Fuentes juanjf7777 at aol.com or Hunter Rittenberry hunteritt at aol.com
Food Pick-up at the Mid-South Food Bank: Volunteers should drive SUVs or large cars. Food pickup usually takes place between 8:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
Contact Juan Fuentes juanjf7777 at aol.com or Gayle Evans evansgayled at gmail.com
Community Table (a project of Memphis Tilth) nurtures an organic community garden that serves the Mid- South Food Bank and provides food to those in need.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: TBA
Volunteer Contact: Sarah Taylor communitytablememphis at gmail.com
Memphis Inter-Faith Association operates a variety of programs for low-income Memphians including a delivering service program, Meals on Wheels, through which volunteers bring meals to homebound seniors.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: Bill Pichette picwill at rocketmail.com
Volunteer Contact: Linda Marks lmarks at mifa.org
Dorothy Day House of Hospitality provides temporary housing and support services for homeless families. Volunteer opportunities include bringing a meal, tutoring, helping families move to permanent homes, and yard maintenance.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: Paula Barnes pbarnes31 at comcast.net
Volunteer Contact: Sister Maureen Griner mgriner at aol.com
Living Grace advocates for and serves homeless youth in grades K-12 by providing basic resources such as school supplies, toiletries, MATA bus passes, college and career readiness counseling, and grooming services.
GSL Outreach Team Liaisons: Edith Heller hrheller3 at comcast.net
and Carol Ann Mallory cam2269 at aol.com
Volunteer contact: Sheleah B. Harris livinggracememphis at gmail.com
Mid-South Sober Living provides transitional housing and support services for individuals who are starting on the road to recovery from addiction.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: James Drummond drummondjamesf at gmail.com
Volunteer Contact: Walter Williams wwilliams at midsouthsoberliving.org
Thistle and Bee helps women who have survived prostitution and trafficking thrive through a holistic approach that addresses the individual needs of each woman through housing, wrap-around services addressing physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual needs as well as employment and job skills training.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: Barbara King mimikingx6 at outlook.com
Volunteer Contact: Eli Cloud ecloud at thistleandbee.org
Camp Able – Saint Columba serves diversely-abled children including those with Down syndrome, autism, ADHD and similar challenges.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: Bill Pichette picwill at rocketmail.com
Volunteer Contact: Suzanne Cantwell suzanne at saintcolumbamemphis.org
Church Health provides comprehensive health care and wellness services to patients who have low-moderate incomes, are not uninsured, or have little to no access to health care. The organization strives to foster physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being among their patients and the community.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: Bill Pichette picwill at rocketmail.com
Volunteer Contact: Sharon Jones joness at churchhealth.org
Friends for Life serves individuals who suffer from HIV/AIDS by providing comprehensive services to enable them to learn life skills and improve their quality of life. Additionally, the organization focuses on HIV awareness, education, and prevention.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: Paula Barnes pbarnes31 at comcast.net
Volunteer Contact: Kim Moss kim.moss at fflmemphis.org
Gilda’s Club was created in honor of Saturday Night Live’s Gilda Radner and provides a place where men, women, and children with any type of cancer, as well as their family and friends, can come together for free support and education while learning to live with the disease.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: Betsy Black betsybmemphis at yahoo.com
Volunteer Contact: Triena Winbery Triena.winbery at gildasclubmemphis.org
Samaritan Counseling Centers provides faith-based counseling through a ministry of healing to those seeking a balance of emotional, relational and spiritual health without regard to their financial circumstances.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: Ruthie Lentz rlentz at comcast.net
Volunteer Contact: Brooks Moneypenny brooks.monypeny at samaritanmemphis.org
or Earl Donelson Earle.donelson at samaritanmemphis.org
A Step Ahead Foundation strives to improve educational, economic, and health outcomes for Shelby County women by providing access to the most effective reversible methods of birth control so they can plan their futures and achieve their full potential.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: James Drummond drummondjamesf at gmail.com
Volunteer Contact: Constance Lewis constance at astepaheadfoundation.org
Episcopal Relief and Development works to heal a hurting world by alleviating hunger, creating economic opportunities, responding to disasters, promoting health, and strengthening communities worldwide.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: Ramsey Rule at ramseyrule87 at gmail.com
Volunteer Contact: www.episcopalrelief.org/what-you-can-do/volunteer
Kindred Place (formerly Exchange Club) is a volunteer service organization whose mission is to end family violence by helping adults and children find peace, ending the cycle of anger, violence, aggression and trauma inside their homes.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: Barbara King mimikingx6 at outlook.com
Volunteer Contact: Jennifer Balink jbalink at exchangeclub.net
Memphis Child Advocacy Center provides forensic interviews, victim advocacy, and therapy services for victims of child abuse while also working to prevent abuse from happening in the first place through training and consultation.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: TBA
Volunteer Contact: Beryl Wight bwight at MemphisCAC.org
Multi-National Ministries serves the refugee/immigrant community in Memphis through faith-based programs for cultural transition such as its English for Moms program and achieving academic success through its Homework Help tutoring project.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: Betsy Black betsybmemphis at yahoo.com
Volunteer contact: Laurie Graves-Morris laurie at mlfonline.org
Neighborhood Christian Centers guides those in need toward stability and sustainability through Christ-centered ministries and empowerment programs. These ministries and empowerment programs include providing essential items to families in crisis, offering adult and family skill programs for home and work, and youth academic success programs.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: Ruthie Lentz rlentz at comcast.net
Volunteer Contact: Jeremy Gray jaergray at gmail.com
Porter-Leath provides a continuum of high-quality early childhood and social service programs including Books from Birth which promotes kindergarten readiness and strengthens family bonds by providing high quality, age appropriate, monthly books for children throughout Shelby County from birth to age five.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: Carol Ann Mallory cam2269 at aol.com
Volunteer Contact: Natalie Jones njones at porterleath.org
St. George's Memphis Campus Summer Camp GSL provides funding for fourteen children of low-income families to attend the St. George’s summer academic enrichment camp.
GSL Outreach Team Liaison: Katie Savage katierue516 at yahoo.com
Volunteer Contact: Maggie Murff mmurff at sgis.org
