Outreach

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Outreach Committee

The role of the Outreach Committee is to build connections between our parish and communities in need. We believe that this work completes our worship, whereby we are sent into the world “to love and serve the Lord.”

At Christ Church, our activities are mainly focussed on community development and advocacy for social justice, with priority being given to those projects which are transformative and not merely charitable. We try to balance our support for needs that are local, Canada-wide, and international in scope. To learn more about our current initiatives, Go to Outreach News and Updates.

Our aims are served by our Outreach volunteers who:

• initiate new outreach opportunities
• allocate parish funds to agencies and institutions
• serve as a support and steering group for ongoing programs.

All members of the parish are welcome to join our group, and to bring new opportunities, ideas, and perspectives to the table. Our meetings are open, and are advertised in the Notices.

Housing First

Christ Church has aligned itself with the approach to homelessness taken by the Calgary Homeless Foundation, and the Ten Year Plan to end homelessness in Calgary.  This entails cooperating with other local agencies (such as Neighbourlink and "CUPS") to move homeless families into transitional and then permanent housing as quickly as possible.  Christ Church is involved in the "adoption" of homeless families, which entails both the provision of material resources, and mentoring, as our families re-establish themselves. 

Faithful City

"Faithful City" is an initiative of Christ Church, shared with the Anglican Diocese of Calgary.  Rather than galvanizing the interests and (sometimes limited) resources of an individual parish to assist a particular agency in its work (usually by sending money), Faithful City attempts to galvanize the resources and interests of the wider community to address major social issues at their root cause. Rather than treating symptoms, our goal is to create a collaborative network amongst people and organizations who can effect real and systemic change.  These are not necessarily "Church people," but they are people who care about what might be called "kingdom values". 

HIV/AIDS Grandmothers to Grandmothers

This wonderful program was started through the Stephen Lewis Foundation (www.stephenlewisfoundation.org). Grandmothers in Africa have been left to pick up the pieces of families shattered by the HIV/AIDS epidemic that has swept through most of Africa. The idea behind this organisation is for grandmothers in Canada to assist with fund raising in order to help out African grannies. Christ Church has sponsored several  gatherings already, and looks forward to more.

Food Bank

Christ Church supports the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank by transporting food and money which parishioners bring to the church each Sunday.

Food must be non-perishable, and containers, packets, and seals, must be intact.

We welcome both donations, and drivers. Please contact the Church Office for more information.

“PWRDF” – The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund

The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund is the Anglican Church of Canada’s agency for relief, refugees, development and justice. With the support of Anglican parishes across Canada, the Primate’s Fund makes financial and human resources available to support the initiatives of our partners throughout the world, and to promote knowledgeable actions of solidarity at home and abroad.

The Primate’s Fund engages in development work, responds to emergencies, works to protect refugees, and educates and advocates for change.

For a fuller view, visit the PWRDF website at http://www.pwrdf.org.

Discretionary Assistance

Christ Church puts a modest amount of money at the disposal of the clergy for emergency assistance.

Anglican Church Women

Historically in Canada, the Anglican Church Women was formed to attend to the needs, voice, and particular contribution of women in the Anglican Church. As such, all women of the parish came under the umbrella of the ACW’s mandate. In these days of an “equal opportunity Church,” the ACW’s role has changed somewhat, to focus on outreach and fellowship. However, the original breadth of its welcome remains intact, and any woman of the parish is automatically considered a part of its network, and welcome to participate in its projects and activities.

At Christ Church, we meet 2 to 3 times per year, and usually organize one or two  rummage sales – one in the spring, and one in the fall. The proceeds of these sales support charitable organizations within the Church and the general community.

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