As Christians, we are called to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves.” At Saint David’s, we take that commitment seriously. Much of our energy is devoted to our immediate neighbors, people in Agawam and West Springfield with whom we can develop meaningful relationships. But we also participate in international efforts to help transform the world from the nightmare it is for some into the dream that God has for us all.
May was another big month for us! 
We had another successful Veterans Lunch on the 7th (a repeat of our yummy pork Community supper from the night before) and a good group at Church without Walls. One of our participants seemed to be under the influence of something and was a lively presence. But then he asked if he could lead us in the Lord’s Prayer, and was clearly moved. It was a reminder to be patient and let the Holy Spirit work away!

We also continued our WCCC Bible Study on the first Monday of the month, although they cancelled our session on the 4th Monday for Memorial Day.

The main additional Outreach activity was a sermon by Mary Moore about her mission trip to Jamaica with Food for the Poor. In conjunction with her sermon, we took up a collection for Food for the Poor.

Looking ahead, we’ll participate in a River Clean-up on June 1, and the Appalachian Trail Ministry on June 22.

We are also one of the sponsors of a Golf Tournament to support the Parish Cupboard at St Anne’s Country Club on Tuesday, June 11. (They are still looking for participants if you are a golfer!)

Local Outreach
Our most consistent outreach is Church without walls. We have joined with six area Churches representing four denominations to provide a short worship service and lunch each Sunday at noon at the Parish Cupboard (1023 Main Street, West Springfield). We cover the second Sundays. This has been a really wonderful project for us because it has given us an opportunity to get to know some of the people we are called to serve.

We call another regular outreach effort in our area The Agawam Project. Every Christmas, the Town Nurse gives us the names of families (first names only, along with the age and gender of the child) who could use a little help with Christmas. Parishioners buy presents and clothes. We deliver the presents to the Nurse who in turn delivers them to the families. At Easter, we do the same thing with Easter baskets.

For the last two years, towards the end of the summer, we have also provided Backpacks for local children (in partnership with the Christian Lighthouse). We filled the backpacks with school supplies and distributed them during a day of fun events. Last year we also followed up this project by donating new coats to every child who needed one.

We support "Bumpa's Crew" in the Agawam Relay for Life, with fundraising events like a special dinner and a Paint and Sip event.

In addition to those special events, we collect food for the Parish Cupboard and tabs for the Shriners each week. We host Overeaters Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and Al-Anon each week. And we participate in occasional ecumenical outreach efforts like the Convoy of Hope.

Women's Correctional Center Bible Study, by Deacon Terry: 
10/1/2024. Update:  With regret, we discontinued our Prison Bible Study. Our most faithful participant moved to another prison, and there did not appear to be much interest among the other inmates. 
Outreach
Updates
10/1/24 by Fr Harvey:
  • The Veterans Lunch went well, with nearly thirty people total. That was impressive given that construction made getting to the building difficult. At least one person told me afterwards that they tried to come and couldn’t make it.
  • Church without Walls   didn’t meet because, Bob Fastie, the executive director of the Parish Cupboard, was out of town.
  • Prison Bible Study. Our most faithful participant moved to another prison, and there did not appear to be much interest among the other inmates.
  • We contributed to a Pickleball Fundraiser for the Parish Cupboard, and also to the Diocese’s Golf Tournament to raise money for “Human to Human.” We also made a donation to Food for the Poor which was matched tenfold! Thanks to Jim Shields for noticing that opportunity.
  • Two other ministries closer to home. We did our annual MUMs sale fundraiser for Action Centered Tutoring in Springfield, and a sock/underwear drive (Undie Sunday) to support a homeless ministry at our Cathedral.
  • We are sending a representative (Robert Duval) to a Walk to end Alzheimer’s in Holyoke
  • We are promoting The Pink Way Annual Gala to raise money to fight breast cancer.
  • We’ll have our annual United ThankDOffering In-Gathering.
  • We voted to send $100.00 to the Piranha swim team of Agawam/Southwick. Thank you to Denise Noyes for bringing the Piranha to our attention. 
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International Outreach
Through the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, we contribute to a number of international outreach efforts as well. Twice a year, we take up the United Thank Offering, which goes to fund mission efforts around the world. We have taken up special collections for Episcopal Relief and Development; overseas missionaries; a program called Change the Babies that helps an orphanage in Africa; Food for the Poor, and other organizations.
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United Thank
​Offering
United Thank Offering: This is money collected from Episcopal Churches around the country, pooled, and then given as grants to help people in need.
The 2016 grants were awarded to projects in 32 dioceses, which included 25 dioceses located in the United States, five non-domestic dioceses, six companion dioceses, one grant to the Office of the Presiding Bishop – Episcopal Migration Ministries, and one to Presiding Bishop Currey