In the Community
In October and May, St. James’ holds a Month of Community Service where St. James’ provides a list of opportunities to serve or donate to local charities and organizations. This is also a great time to think about volunteering to serve as part of your walk with faith. Please take time to review some of the ministries that serve our community. If you find any of these outreach ministries interesting and would like to learn more, please contact Laura Posecznick at Laura@stjamesskan.org.
St. James’ Month of Community Service is happening in October. This season we are doing something a little different. We are focusing on Giving with a Purpose -all donations are for the Skaneateles Food Pantry!
Our Month of Community Service begins on October 6, 2024 with a fresh point of view, “Giving with a Purpose”; addressing specific needs in our local community. During the month of October, we will focus on the needs of the Skaneateles Food Pantry clients. Each month, the pantry serves 85 to 90 families or households. It is open Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings. These households must live in the Skaneateles Central School District and may visit the pantry once per week. Just more than 30% of the families served are Spanish-speaking, primarily workers at local dairy farms. Other groups of food pantry clients: elderly individuals, including several veterans, and families with young children.
Each Sunday, we ask that the congregation bring one of the following items:
Canned Black Beans
Canned Fruit
2 pound bag of white rice (not instant)
32 oz bottle of vegetable oil
Maseca, ( Walnart’s Great Vaule brand Masa Instantanea de Maiz)
Box of Pasta
Simply bring your donation to the front of the church, before or after service, and place in the baskets provided.
We hope you will join us in “Giving With a Purpose”
Helpful Hint: Tops Market provides day-old bakery items, and meat, poultry, and dairy products near their expiration date. During the growing season, local farmers donate produce. Other Items are donated through annual food drives sponsored by the Scouts, Rotary Club, and postal carriers or collected by local churches, such as St. James. The food pantry also purchases non-perishable foods from the Central New York Food Bank, Amazon, Walmart, and dollar stores.
Questions? Please contact Beth Quattrociocchi at bqfamily4@gmail.com, Chris Davis at cd91088@gmail.com or the Parish Office at 315.685.7600.
This October the focus will be on projects/donations for Skaneateles Food Pantry
Each Week Bring 1 or More of the items below to Church! There will be a basket by the peace altar!
- Canned Black Beans
- Canned Fruit
- 2 pound bag of white rice (not instant)
- 32 oz bottle of vegetable oil
- Maseca, ( Walmart’s Great Vaule brand Masa Instantanea de Maiz)
- Box of Pasta
If you have some Time to GIVE this St. James’ encourages you to Check OUT the Opportunities Below!
Cayuga Habitat for Humanity: Volunteers to participate in building a Habitat Home. Contact Larry Pidgeon at Larrypidgeon@gmail.com and he will connect you to a local project.
Matthew House: Volunteers to help with Spring garden clean-up. Contact Beth Quattrociocchi at bqfamily4@gmail.com for clean-up dates.
The Thrift Shop: Volunteer Monthly for 2 to 3 hours or when you are able to help Monday and Tuesday – 10 AM to 2PM, help with donations or Wednesday through Saturday – 1 PM to 4 PM, help customers in shop. Please contact Linda Lavery at lllavtrav@gmail.com
Summer Outdoor Worship Set-up: Parishioners to help set up band instruments and chairs for the 10:45 service during the summer. Contact Beth Quattrociocchi at bqfamily4@gmail.
St. Peter and St. John Soup Kitchen: Volunteers needed for food preparation and serving. Two hour shifts on the last Saturday of the month. Contact Corrinne at corinnebuterbaugh@gmail.com.
Three Sisters Community Garden is a collaboration of the RJRC, St. James Creation Care Ministry and the Rescue Mission at Merriman Circle. Children from St. James and Merriman Circle will get to know each other, and all participants will learn about the Haudenosaunee legacy of caring for this land and how plants interact with each other. The harvest will be used in the children’s cooking classes at Merriman Circle led by Nancy Lee. Planning meetings took place in February and March. The first planting will take place May 9.
Every Day Volunteer Ideas
Auburn Rescue Mission
St. James’ Cooking Classes for Kids.
St. James has provided years of support for the Auburn Rescue Mission at the Merriman Circle location in Auburn. Over the past years, volunteers have been assisting with numerous activities and crafts for kids. This year the St. James Cooking Classes for Kids began in January. This monthly class on the third Thursday of the month is designed to have kids learn how to make simple recipes working in teams of two. We will be helping the “chefs in training” learn about and prepare healthy foods. The cooking classes will help to build self-esteem and improve social skills as the “chefs” have fun as they create a delicious snack or small meal.
We are looking for volunteers to help us with this exciting program, the kids are looking forward to it. Nancy Lee is coordinating the program. Volunteers do not have to do any preparation, just come to Merriman Circle and assist. Do you like to cook? Do you enjoy working with children? Do you have a fun recipe to share? The classes will be held the third Thursday of the month from 4-5:30pm. We are also looking for cooking supplies for the “chefs” to use such as measuring and mixing tools. Please contact (call, text, or email) Nancy Lee if you would like to volunteer or donate supplies. Maybe you have some helpful ideas to share as well. We look forward to hearing from you.
Nancy Lee (315-256-8196)
If you would like to volunteer or learn more about the Auburn Rescue Mission, please contact the Parish Office to be connected with the volunteer team.
Skaneateles Ecumenical Food Pantry
In 2001, seven local churches – First Presbyterian, Grace Chapel, Holy Trinity Lutheran, St. Andrews United Methodist, St. James’ Episcopal, St. Mary’s of the Lake Roman Catholic, and Skaneateles United Methodist – combined their food programs into one ecumenical food pantry to collect and distribute food to the needy of the Skaneateles area. The Pantry serves approximately 100 households each month, and provides special holiday distributions at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. The people of St. James’ provide weekly food donations, as well as volunteers who serve at the Pantry and on its board of directors.
Soup Kitchen at SS Peter and John in Auburn
This soup kitchen feeds as many as 150 of our hungry neighbors every Saturday, 52 weeks a year. St. James’ sends volunteers on the last Saturday of the month. Some work from 9:30 am to 11:30 am preparing food while others work from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm serving and cleaning up. All you need to help is a willingness to work and smile!
