Outreach at St. Alban’s Church

“Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”              - 1 John 3:18

St. Alban’s has always been involved in our neighborhood and around the city in a variety of outreach programs and projects, responding to and serving the needs of our own parishioners and those seeking spiritual and physical nourishment.

Until 2004 St. Alban’s had an on-site food pantry in our building serving over 200 families and offering supplies to other pantries in the area.  That pantry no longer exists but we do support food ministries throughout the city by having collections for food, clothing, and household staples.  Also, on the first Sunday of each month we have a monetary collection.  The four agencies we help are:

The Dayspring Center – A temporary shelter for homeless families

The Damien Center – An agency that supports people with HIV/AIDS

Horizon House – A homeless day center

Forest Manor Multi-Service Center – Our neighborhood center for social outreach.

A few blocks down the street from the church is IPS 83.  For many years St. Alban’s has had a close association with the school.  A few parish members currently act as tutors for the students.  Twice a year we have an event at the church for a few needy students and their families.  In August we have the “Backpack to School” event, where we give backpacks filled with school supplies and gift cards for school uniforms to four or five families in need.  We do a similar event in December where we invite five or six families to church on a Saturday morning.  While the children are being entertained downstairs the parents are upstairs picking out gifts for the children for Christmas.  We also give each family a Kroger gift card.

Last year we started what we hope will be an annual event at St. Alban’s.  We have decided to participate in the 9/11 Day of Service (911dayofservice.org). In honor of the victims of the 9/11 tragedy many around the country are uniting on September 11th to give back to their community.  In 2010 St. Alban's had a reception on the evening to September 11th to honor the teachers and staff of IPS 83 for their dedication and servive to the children of our community.  The highlight of the evening was when we gave to the principal a check for $4700 to help purchase new playground equipment for the school.  This year we will once again participate in the 9/11 Day of Service.  Please check our website for more information.

Every year St. Alban’s participates in the CWS Crop Walk – which is a three mile walk in October around the Butler University neighborhood to raise money for the hungry in the United States and around the world.  We also participate in the annual Indianapolis AIDS Walk – which raises funds for those with HIV/AIDS.

This year the Outreach committee has decided to lend our support to the Abby Hunt Bryce Home – a hospice in our neighborhood that cares for citizens of Central Indiana who are terminally ill and without financial resources.   We are currently collecting paper products for the hospice and hope to increase our volunteer participation in the coming months.

St. Alban’s is committed to our environment and avoids the use of disposable cups and plates in favor of using china and silverware for our parish events. We recycle everything we use: paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, and metal.  We are also developing a drop off site for printer and toner cartridge recycling for the neighborhood.

St. Alban's supports Matthew 25 Ministries in Ohio by recycling prescription medicine containers for their use in dispensing medicines in national and overseas missions.

Several different Twelve Step groups use our facilities weekly and we also host dinners and training meeting for District 23 of AA.  We host the longest meeting AA group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people in Indianapolis – now meeting for more than 30 years.

Finally, our facilities are used by Freetown Village for several different aspects of its programming.  Freetown Village is a not-for-profit living history project to educate the public about African American lives and culture in Indiana.  During the summer months Freetown Village sponsors an eight week children’s camp in and around our church.

Outreach meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of Jan, Mar, May, July, Sept, and Nov at 7pm.  Please contact the church (317-546-8037) with any questions or comments.