Mission Development at St. Paul’s

December 11, 2007

The future of St. Paul’s as an Episcopal worshipping community, and of St Paul’s as a place of social mission and outreach, are intertwined. Planning and development in three areas must occur at the same time.

I. St. Paul’s Church: the new start
AS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING, JANUARY 13, 2008

1. Establish a new Executive Committee for oversight, governance and fundraising
2. This new Executive Committee, appointed by the bishop, will include people from the neighboring deaneries, people outside of the existing worshipping congregation
3. The Vicar and the Launch Team, appointed by the Executive Committee, will attend “New Start Boot Camp” and learn from the network of church planters (Episcopal and otherwise) about how to go about this “new start”

II. St. Paul’s Community

1. A new corporation was formed in February 2007, for community outreach and development. This new corporation is in the process of applying for 501(c)3 not-for-profit status. Its purpose is to offer hospitality and services to those in need. The officers are The Rev. Jacqueline Schmitt, President; Eleanor Wentworth, Secretary; Charles Davis, Treasurer. St. Paul’s Community currently operates St. Paul’s Table, a soup kitchen. It is in the process of developing St. Paul’s Community Day Center.
2. St. Paul’s Table, formerly known as St. Paul’s Kitchen, has been in operation since the early 1980s, serving lunch to the hungry and homeless.
   a. The mission of St. Paul’s Table is to serve lunch in a safe and friendly manner, with respect to those in need, and with the support of volunteers and donations of food and money from across the community.
   b. The Rev. Jacqueline Schmitt, as Vicar of St. Paul’s Church, serves as Interim Executive Director.
   c. The Operations Committee meets monthly to provide support and guidance to the volunteer team, to set policy for volunteers and guests, to recruit and support volunteers, and to identify problems to be addressed by volunteers (kitchen and dining room operations), committee (fundraising, policy or oversight), or St. Paul’s Church (building or administration).
3. A collaborative effort to explore the development of St. Paul’s Community Day Center has been meeting since August. A need was identified to provide a place of respite and shelter for the guests of St. Paul’s Table before and after the serving of the noon meal. An ad-hoc coalition of church leaders and social service agencies met, identified a mission, and began to gather data on the people who might use such a day center (the homeless and marginally housed persons who eat at St. Paul’s Table).
   a. The draft mission statement:
   The St. Paul’s Community Day Center welcomes all to a daily space of hospitality and caring. It’s goals are two-fold:
   to provide a safe, wholesome community for people at the margins, and
   to move toward an end to homelessness.
   It provides lunch, resources, advocacy, a delivery or recruitment point for social services, and a place of respite and recreation.
   b. A point-in-time survey of Table guests (96 interviewed) reveals that only about 10 percent are homeless, that is living at the MainSpring shelter or on the street. Most live marginally, in very modest circumstances – one room, or in someone else’s home – and at risk of homelessness. Many responded positively to the need for a place to go during the day, for socializing, conversation, recreation and safety.
   c. This day hospitality center would not create a new social service agency, but work with existing agencies to help meet the needs of the people who would come to the center.
   d. As a community of faith, we believe that the supports to prevent homelessness should include more than case management of social services and should add value and meaning to people’s lives. We have observed that the guests who eat at St. Paul’s Table come there for more than food: they participate in a community of friendship and hospitality.
   e. We are in the process of contacting leaders in agencies and in the city to explore more formal partnerships to carry out this mission. These include:
   City of Brockton, Catholic Charities, Father Bill’s/MainSpring, Lutheran Social Services, BAMSI, Salvation Army, Self-Help, Old Colony Y
   e. Even with formal partnerships with existing agencies, St. Paul’s Community will need additional staff and funding to carry out these ideas. Staff would include:
   (1) an Executive Director, to oversee the Day Center and the Table; to supervise staff and provide back-up to volunteers; to reach out to the community for more volunteers and support; to raise funds through appeals and grant applications; to work with St. Paul’s Church and the Diocese of Massachusetts, which own the building.
   (2) custodial and support staff (part-time)
   (3) secure funding for utilities, upkeep, and staff salaries

III. Revitalization of the Warren-Pleasant area

1. The corner nearest the church is blighted and run down. Two of the corners are vacant businesses, one is a liquor store and the fourth is a collection of businesses, including a grocery store, Laundromat and the administrative offices for Father Bill’s/MainSpring. This corner is known for vagrancy and drug activity. If there is a future for a worshipping congregation at St. Paul’s Church, this corner must be improved in appearance, safety and productivity for the community at large. The participation of St. Paul’s Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts in the revitalization of this corner is essential to its mission.
2. Our long-time work at St. Paul’s Table convinces us that the problem of hunger and need will not be solved without the provision of adequate housing. Because we know many of the Table guests well, we know that even those who have adequate housing often live on the margins of homelessness, and so a “Housing First” model of homelessness prevention must include supportive services.
3. Along with the Episcopal City Mission, we at St. Paul’s have entered into conversation with the Salvation Army/Adult Rehab, BIC/Nehemiah, Father Bill’s/MainSpring and Lutheran Social Services about a model for affordable home-ownership called “Opportunity Housing.” This model would provide studio-condominiums at low cost to “graduates” of rehab programs such as the Salvation Army’s, with the continuance of supportive services, to enable chronically homeless single adults to be able to live and work on their own.
4. We are contacting churches in the neighborhood, to gather support for revitalization of this corner, and our next step is to approach the city about current zoning and redevelopment plans.
5. We are ready to find a partner to fund a study of this neighborhood, to offer us expert advice on community development and economic regeneration.