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Our Life of Service in Christ

Thompson's Children's HomeSaint Peter's has a strong history of serving others -- this is one of the principal ways that we spread the power of Jesus' love. Some of our outreach efforts go back many years. When St. Peter's Hospital was opened in 1876, it was Charlotte's only facility for care of the sick and destitute. Good Samaritan Hospital, built in 1878, was the first hospital in the country built and operated for the Black community. For 73 years, it stood as a living and working symbol of the compassion of the membership of St. Peter's.

In 1869 the parish founded Thompson's Institute to serve the area's orphaned children. Today, as Thompson's Child & Family Focus, it continues to make a tremendous contribution to the care of the state's troubled children.

The St. Peter's CROPWALK Crew

Today, there are many outreach opportunities for St. Peter's parishioners. The Outreach Commission makes recommendations to the Vestry for the outreach budget and coordinates volunteer efforts, ensuring that the continuity of our ministry to the community is maintained.

Urban Ministry In 1994, St. Peter's Soup Kitchen, which began in 1979 as a way to feed the hungry in downtown Charlotte, joined with other urban ministries to form the Urban Ministry Center, an ecumenical organization which addresses the needs of the homeless and any in crisis. The Urban Ministry is staffed by a rotating group of over 50 volunteers, many of whom are members of other churches or from the city at large. It provides more that 59,000 meals each year, serving an average of 175 people seven days a week.

The Augustine Project at St. Peter's: 
Changing Lives Two at a Time

The mission of The Augustine Project at St. Peter’s is to provide training and support to volunteer tutors who provide one on one tutoring to low income children and teens who are significantly behind in literacy skills. In September we trained fifteen new volunteers with the cooperation of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church and Elizabeth Traditional Elementary School. Each dedicated, enthusiastic volunteer has made a commitment to work with a child for sixty hours. Several have continued well beyond that initial period. Their dedication is evidence that their lives have been changed through this experience.  In the 08-09 academic year we have 25 Augustine tutors serving more than 25 children in our community.

The foundation of our training is the Orton-Gillingham approach which uses all of the senses to help youngsters learn to read and write.  Volunteers receive materials including a Wilson Starter Set which they use in a five day practicum with a child from Elizabeth Traditional School.  The difference in our program from many other faith based programs in our public schools is that we train volunteers to adapt a ten point lesson to the literacy needs of a particular child or teen.

The Augustine Project was created as a ministry of The Church of the Holy Family, Chapel Hill in 1994. Since then hundreds of volunteers have provided free tutoring to low-income children and teens. The program has been replicated in Winston-Salem, Hickory, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Houston, Texas as well as here in Charlotte. 

We are grateful to Adele Hagood, former member of St. Peter’s, who recognized that helping a child to learn to read is one of the most effective ways of empowerment.  Her financial support, planning and work inaugurated our first year in 2004.   Other financial assistance has come from generous individuals, St. Peter’s, St. Mary’s Guild, and St. Peter’s Hospital Foundation.

Contributions may be sent to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, memo The Augustine Project.
Address any questions or interest in enrolling in the 2009 training to armstrong4300@bellsouth.net

Click here to visit the Augustine Project website.

The Chapel of Christ the King The Chapel of the Christ the King is an Episcopal parish located in the economically challenged center city area known as Optimist Park. Funded by local parishes, the Diocese of North Carolina and foundational grants, the Chapel's programs focus on helping the residents of Optimist Park. Opportunities abound for volunteer work with their weekday school, after-school program, parish nursing ministry, summer camp program, and BRIDGE Jobs program. Contact the Chapel office at 704-334-3097 to inquire directly.

RAIN - Regional AIDS Interfaith Network The RAIN program enables volunteers to live out their faith by working in groups called Care Teams assisting individuals afflicted with AIDS. Its mission is to develop an informed, passionate response to AIDS, beginning by educating and involving churches, synagogues, and other groups in the wider Charlotte community by providing programs which help dispel the myths surrounding AIDS. RAIN also provides services to persons living with HIV/AIDS and by networking with other organizations to coordinate AIDS relief efforts.

A meal at Samaritan HouseRoom in the Inn This program runs from late November through the end of March each year and is part of a larger community wide program that is run by the Urban Ministry Center. St. Peter's hosts 12 guests one night a week for each week of the program, providing a safe haven for rest, a warm meal, breakfast the following morning and transportation to and from the Urban Ministry Center. Each week requires a crew of drivers, cooks, servers, set-up and clean up personnel, and persons willing to spend the night with the guests.

Episcopal Outreach Camp This four day "camp" for middle school aged children includes children from the entire Charlotte Convocation and focuses on providing outreach service for various organizations as well as having fun.

Building with Habitat for Humanity
Other outreach opportunities include Samaritan House, the St. Peter's crew for Habitat for Humanity and the annual CROP WALK. In addition, St. Peter's provides ongoing financial and volunteer support for the Crisis Assistance Ministry and a variety of other community agencies which specialize in caring for the poor and needy. If you are interested in becoming involved with any of these groups, please contact the parish office at 704-332-7746.

email us for additional information on any of these opportunties

St. Peter's Episcopal Church
115 West Seventh Street, Charlotte, NC 28202 • (704)-332-7746

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