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Outreach
How does
God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister
in need and yet refuses to help? … let us love not in word or speech but in truth
and action. 1 John 3: 17-18 As
the body of Christ, the church proclaims to the world its message of reaching
out to those in need by sponsoring and supporting outreach programs to its immediate
community, the Diocese of Arizona, and the world. St. Philip's supports and celebrates
individual ministries and helps members recognize the ministries where they can
best serve. It also offers training to enhance member gifts. Many of the active
programs are described on the following pages. Some programs are funded through
the regular church budget while others depend on the financial support of interested
parishioners. Some programs require steady week-by-week involvement, while others
are only annual events. Some programs involve many people while others need only
the dedicated service of one or two. SOCIAL
MINISTRIES
Casa Maria:
 Casa
Maria Soup Kitchen serves 800 meals per day to low income and homeless individuals
and families. The kitchen relies on donations of time, money, and foodstuffs from
community volunteers, the Community Food Bank, religious institutions, and individuals.
St. Philip's volunteers, including the youth, play a crucial role by preparing
and delivering approximately 1800 lunches to Casa Maria every fourth Saturday
throughout the year. Christmas
Project:
Each
Christmas, members of the parish family generously support a program to benefit
low income schools with which St. Philip's has an ongoing relationship. Schools
that benefit from this project may include Mission View Elementary, Richey Elementary,
Imago Dei Middle School, and Rio Vista Elementary. Each school proposes how we
can best help them serve their community.
 Food
Programs:
In a land of great abundance, many in Tucson still do not get
enough to eat. St. Philippians contribute to food banks through First Sunday food
drives supporting Interfaith Community Services (ICS) and our own food pantry,
located in the church office. The St. Philip's food pantry strives to provide
food to any individual who comes to the office in need of food. Besides bringing
food for our food pantry and for ICS, many St. Philippians also volunteer to sort
food for our food pantry.
Interfaith
Community Services:
Interfaith Community
Services (ICS) was founded in 1985 to share God's love by creating connections
between faith communities and volunteers in serving the elderly, disabled, individuals
and families in financial crisis. They provide more than 45,000 services a year
to over 24,000 disadvantaged people, disabled individuals, and seniors in two
locations in Tucson. St. Philip's is one of approximately 48 faith community partners
in ICS. Services include Mobile Meals, two food banks, a Good Samaritan Fund for
emergency needs, transportation, shopping, friendly visitation, and daily Telecare
for assurance from a friendly voice. St. Philip's also uses ICS services to enhance
its pastoral care outreach. The church encourages its members to volunteer and
provides financial support. There are many rewarding opportunities to volunteer
with this organization.  Habitat
for Humanity Tucson:
Habitat helps low-income working families
build affordable homes. In the spirit of Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth, parishioners
are engaged in the Theology of the Hammer. Since 1999, more than 100 parishioners
have worked on site at one time or another at the many Habitat houses cosponsored
by St. Philip's. Cosponsors have included the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Our Saviours
Lutheran Church, Catalina United Methodist Church, the Rainbow Coalition, and
a coalition of Tucson Episcopal churches.
St. Philip's financial contribution comes from members' gifts as well as the Outreach
Budget. Contributions to support our next Habitat house may be sent to Habitat
directly with a notation on the check of "St. Philip's In The Hills." Contributions
may also be processed through the parish office by making the check out to St.
Philip's and noting on the check that it is for Habitat for Humanity Tucson (or
HFHT). In addition, St. Philippians volunteer at the Habistore, where people can
recycle furniture, electrical fixtures, home supplies, garden supplies, etc. for
resale. Proceeds from these sales go to building houses.
Primavera
Foundation:
This nonprofit organization was established in 1983 with
help from St. Philip's to respond to the increasing numbers of homeless people
on the streets of Tucson. Primavera's mission is twofold: 1) to address the causes
of homelessness through a process of advocacy, education and research; and 2)
to establish and operate service programs which offer innovative, cost-effective
solutions to the problems of homelessness. St. Philip's provides volunteers especially
for Five Points, a residential center for recovering addicts and homeless men
and women in transition to a stable life. Two core groups (12 - 16 people) from
St. Philip's parishioners prepare monthly meals and then join the residents at
the center for dinner. TIHAN—Tucson
Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network:
Called by faith, volunteers from member
institutions participate in Care Teams to offer unconditional love and nonmedical
support services for people living with HIV. A referral network of clergy is available
for patients' spiritual support, and education workshops are held on a regular
basis to inform a compassionate response to the AIDS epidemic. We provide annual
financial support, volunteers, board members, and sponsor the December POZ Café.
This popular event provides a hot nutritious meal and social opportunities and
is attended by more than 150 persons living with HIV. Positive
Change:
Starting in January, 2010, Outreach will commence a new program
intended to provide additional funding to Tucson nonprofits with which St. Philip's
is affiliated. Parishioners of all ages—Church School through senior citizens—are
asked to bring any spare change they have at home to the church. All of the change
will be combined and donated to a nonprofit designated by the Outreach Commission
each month, in the hope that even small change can make a Positive Change in people's
lives! VITA
Program:
The federal Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program provides
low- to moderate-income workers with free tax preparation. St. Philip's provides
volunteers for this program, which allows families and individuals to receive
every tax benefit available to them, including the Earned Income Tax Credit. This
volunteer opportunity raises more people out of poverty than any other federal
government program. Volunteers are provided with free tax training by certified
IRS volunteers. No experience necessary. This program runs for 3 months in the
spring. EDUCATION
MINISTRIES
School Tax Credits:
Parishioners are encouraged
to assign their allowable Arizona state income tax education credits to any of
selected local schools in low-income neighborhoods: Hohokam Elementary School,
Johnson Primary School, Lawrence Intermediate School, Mission View Elementary
School, Richey K-8 School, Ochoa, and Imago Dei. Schools use these funds for selected
programs in fine arts (particularly music) and athletics. Outreach
Ministry Training:
Special forums, class, and workshops are held
regularly to inform St. Philip's parishioners about outreach ministries and community
issues and needs. School
Ministries:
St. Philippians volunteer at three public schools and
a private Episcopal school, Imago Dei. Volunteers serve as reading mentors and
classroom aides, always with a goal of improving student achievement and opportunity
through education. 
After-School
Music and Homework Program:
 St.
Philippians started this new program in 2008, focusing on students at Rio Vista
Elementary School. Volunteers walk students to St. Philip's after school, where
they have music lessons, choir lessons, and homework assistance. The program is
currently at capacity with over 20 students and a waiting list. 
BORDER
MINISTRIES  St.
Philippians are involved in many different programs dealing with border  issues.
In addition to the ones mentioned below, many of our other programs have implications
for border and immigration issues.
Just
Coffee:
The Just Coffee project participates in addressing one
of the root causes of labor migration from Mexico to the USA by supporting Just
Coffee, a coffee grower cooperative based in Salvador Urbina, Chiapas, Mexico.
Just Coffee provides viable economic incentives for young and old to remain on
family lands and provides employment, thus reducing the need to migrate to the
US to find work. Just Coffee is sold at St. Philip's on the first Sunday of every
month, and more frequently during the winter holidays. Proceeds from sales are
used to purchase more coffee, pay shipping costs, subsidize cost of occasionally
serving Just Coffee at Coffee Hour on Sundays, and to help purchase new equipment
for the Just Coffee cooperative. 
Food
Packets for Migrants:
Parishioners and St. Philip's Youth (SPY)
contribute food, funds, and labor to fill approximately 200 food packets at least
once a year. These packets are distributed by volunteers from No More Deaths and
the Samaritans. God
Across Borders:
 This
is a compelling journey of faith as people of all generations join in an Intergenerational
Border Advance, where a retreat is turned inside out. Our time for spiritual growth
and community building first gathers us at St. Philip's on Friday evening for
supper and sharing and reflection with Sean Carroll, SJ, Executive Director for
the Kino Border Initiative, to prepare us for our visit to Border on Saturday.
Families can bring camping equipment to camp on church property. On Saturday,
we visit Nogales on the Mexican and U.S. sides to learn, share and grow through
first-hand encounters of God and community at the border.We visit and work at
"the dining room," a facility that serves several hundred deported people a day
just a few hundred feet from La Mariposa crossing. We also visit a shelter that
serves women and children who have been deported and have no place to go once
they are in Mexico. 
PEACE
AND JUSTICE MINISTRIES Pima
County Interfaith Council:
 St.
Philip's was a founding member of this non-profit broad-based interfaith advocacy
organization which now has approximately 45 member churches, synagogues, and non-profit
organizations. Under the umbrella of the nationally recognized Industrial Areas
Foundation, PCIC is a part of a larger state coalition, the Arizona Interfaith
Network, with sister organizations in Phoenix, Mesa, Yuma, and Flagstaff. PCIC
addresses poverty, housing, jobs, health, education, immigration, elder care,
and crime in Pima County. Twenty to thirty members of St. Philip's have recently
participated in PCIC-organized house meetings, strategy sessions, family center
events, and a neighborhood walk focused on the Rio Vista neighborhood. We also
hosted and organized the Building a Caring Community: Information and Resources
for Seniors, Persons with Disabilities, and Caregivers in 2008. In
the media: Building a Caring Community Financial
Programs:
St.
Philip's Outreach has partnered with the non-profit Accion USA to help low-income
people start their own business. This ministry expects to grow during the coming
year with the addition of Spanish speaking volunteers. St. Philipians also led
the fight to stop predatory payday lending in Arizona. St. Philippians took a
leadership role in forming the new Diocese of Arizona Credit Union, which will
be able to issue small loans to business and individuals who may not be able to
get loans elsewhere. DIOCESAN
MINISTRIES St.
Philip's is one of over 50 parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona. Our diocesan
assessment is combined with those from other parishes to support the Church's
mission throughout Arizona and the world. These resources enable the Diocese to
be present where need calls, as well as to develop and support new mission churches.
St. Philippians also serve on diocesan program groups, such as the one for Border,
Migrants, and Immigration. For further information about the Diocese visit www.azdiocese.org. WORLDWIDE
MINISTRY St.
Philip's is a vital part of the Episcopal Church, USA, and of the worldwide Anglican
Communion which consists of nearly 80 million members in 164 countries throughout
the world. Visit www.episcopalchurch.org
to learn what the Church is doing to pursue the Gospel in the USA and the world
at large. Some projects supported by St. Philip's are described below. Episcopal
Relief and Development:
Formerly called The Presiding Bishops Fund, ERD
provides emergency aid where needed in selected target areas in the U.S. and around
the globe. For example, after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, ERD responded
immediately by setting up a relief shelter in historic St. Paul's Chapel, only
footsteps away from the destroyed World Trade Center. More recently, ERD provided
substantial assistance to people affected by the disastrous tsunami, especially
on the island of Sri Lanka, and by Hurricane Katrina. The Outreach Committee coordinates
an annual parish-wide collection for ERD. United
Thank Offering (UTO):
Begun in 1889 by a group of Episcopal Church women
as a thankful response to the blessings they received in their daily lives, UTO
has grown to a $3 million annual fund disbursed as grants for non-emergency needs
to churches and church related organizations in the USA and abroad. St. Philip's
holds two UTO Ingatherings yearly to support this ministry. It's
easy to get involved in reaching out to others through the Outreach ministries
at St. Philip's. Notes about activities are in the weekly bulletin, the calendar,
and Loaves & Fishes. Watch for the Sunday morning Outreach Workshop series,
at which you may learn more about the many Outreach ministries. Come and
See ... Grow with God ... Go and Do! For
more information, or to join any of these activities or projects, contact Co-Commissioners
Laura Fairbanks and Chuck Converse e-mail.
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