Friends and partners in ministry
Several years ago, our version of a church board—called the kitchen table—made the decision to allocate 5% of our offering income for ministries outside of our own church life. At the 2011 annual open meeting, that percentage was raised to 6%, with the intention of raising it by one percent a year until we hit a solid 10% community tithe.
We like to think in terms of supporting our friends and partners in ministry, who are going about valued and important work.
Agape Table is the community meal program which shares the All Saints building with us, offering up a hot meal to 250 people a day, five days a week. More than just a conventional soup kitchen, Agape Table frames its work in terms of nourishment, community and empowerment. Along with the funds we donate to their work, each Sunday we also collect baskets filled with fresh fruit and other needed staples as a very tangible way of supporting their work and vision.
Hand in Hand with Haiti is a project of EMAS Canada (Education, Medical Aid & Service), carried out in partnership with the El Shaddai Church community in Haiti. This initiative is aimed at helping to raise the overall level of health and well being of El Shaddai’s neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. We’ve been particularly interested in the annual medical ministry program at El Shaddai, spearheaded by saint ben’s members Pierre Plourde and Krista Waring.
Manitoba Pioneer Camp also received funds this past year, designated to support their
summer and student staff. We’ve got a significant number of Pioneer Camp staff attending saint benedict’s table, and several of our young people have been involved as campers and counselors in training, making this a good ministry partnership for us.
