People in need—sometimes dire, often chronic—are everywhere, from our own backyards to remote towns and cities on the other side of the world. All Saints’ Parish responds to both local and global needs with remarkable generosity—in volunteer time, particular talents, and our treasure in the form of financial gifts.
- This parish financially supports Christian Neighbors, a forty-year old organization formed by local churches and headquartered in Douglas. Christian Neighbors serves families from the lakeshore region by providing food, clothing, and counseling on a variety of topics.
- In collaboration with the Saugatuck-Douglas Rotary Club, this parish is significant financial sponsor of the Holland Boys and Girls Club that provides after school programming (more than 150 students in the fall of 2021).
- We support Children First Lakeshore to help “bridge the gap” in children’s meals, especially during the pandemic.
- Out on the Lakeshore, located in Holland, is an LGBT community center serving the wider lakeshore region and which All Saints’ Parish sponsors.
- In the spirit of outreach and supporting arts and cultural educational experiences in our community, we were very pleased to be an inaugral sponsor of the Saugatuck-Douglas-Fennville Arts Initiative (SDFAI) who provided, at no cost, a wide range of educational and entertainment events for families and their children focused on our indigeneous and LatinX communities throughout the summer.
- Emergency Relief: When urgent needs arise, either in our own backyard or on the other side of the planet, we support a variety of partners to provide relief, especially through Episcopal Relief & Development.
In all of our “outreach” efforts, we want to continue to explore the longstanding tension between “charitable giving” and “social transformation” as we consider how best to spend our money and also offer our time and talents to the ongoing efforts toward changing the world with a Gospel of love.
Community Outreach Contacts:
Margaret Mason – margiemason43@gmail.com – 216-702-6040
Bobbie Gaunt – bobbiegaunt@gmail.com – 616-550-3497
“People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words and deeds is like that. No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.”
— Dorthy Day