Ministries

MINISTRIES

Key areas of church ministry focus on holistic community
development through five foundational pillars–worship,
evangelism, education, fellowship, and service. These areas
ensure spiritual growth, outreach, and care, supported by
leadership, administration, and pastoral counseling to nurture the
congregation and reach the surrounding community.

Key areas of church ministry include:

Worship: Planning and leading services including music, prayer, and
sacraments.
Edudation/discipleship: Teaching scripture, Bible studies, and training
believers.
Enangelism/Missions: Spreading the Gospel message through local outreach
and international missions.
Fellowship: Integrating believers, building community, and providing hospitality.
Pastoral Care/Service :Providing counseling supporting the needy, and
offering social services.
Administration/Leadership: Managing church operations, governance and
organizational health.

These ministries are designed to develop, equip, and multiply the
church while supporting both internal spiritual development and external
community engagement.

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THE LITTLE RED CUPBOARD

During the late fall of 2019 Karen Swartout’s daughter Terry was
shopping in Lewes, Delaware and probably visiting some unusual shops on
first street and after shopping past by the burial grounds of St. Peter’s
Episcopal Church when she noticed a rather large red cabinet with foods
on the shelves. When she got home she told her mother of her find and in
the ensuing days talked to Carol Roy then chairman of the outreach
committee and they talked to Father Larry who once served St. Peter’s.
He made arrangements for them to ;meet with the director of the cabinet on
First Street and they took Gene Q with them to get building measurements.
The Little Cabinet was the number IV topic of the 2019 Annual
Meeting held in January of 2020. There is little detail of when the present
Little Red Cupboard was approved by the Vestry. On March 1, 2020 Bishop
Brown blessed the Little Red Cupboard Cupboard. Gene Q, Father
Larry Hofer, and Bishop Brown
Later in March Gene Q., the builder of the Little Red Cupboard, placed it
along the side walk leading to the church house which is on Academy
Street.
Carol Roy was the first chairman for the cabinet. In her 2020 annual
report she said that our parish continues to serve our neighbors and our
homeless brothers and sisters faithfully. The parish has consistently
supported the cupboard with food, books, winter hats, scarves and mittens,
coloring books, crayons, tooth paste and brushes, bottled water, puzzles ,
games and other items too numerous to mention. Money was also donated
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for the purchase of needed items. This has been a wonderful contribution
to our community.

Judy Dean in the picture is the current chairman of the Little Red
Cupboard and is doing a wonderful job. She studies carefully what the likes
and dislikes are in the community and is happy to get nutritional selections
that the community will accept. Each Sunday she fills containers for each
day of the week and members of the parish come in on given days and fill
the cupboard. She prefers to have containers that are easy to open like the
soups in little carton cups and cans that have the pop top. These are quite
popular. As she is getting low in the pantry on given items she will
announce in church the need for help of the item or items and who is
having sales on these items.

POCA SUNDAY
On the first Sunday of every other month the parishioners bring their
produce to church to be distributed to the Crisis House in Georgetown,
Delaware. The items are potatoes, onions, carrots and apples.There have
been requests for broccoli.
The people who are there
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are homeless and allowed a stay for 90 days with a program that includes
meals, counseling, and job/housing assistance, plus a longer–term
transitional housing program for families. Judy is our liaison with the Crisis
House
HOSPITALITY

Episcopal Church hospitality focuses on radical welcome and
inclusivity, often summarized by the “Invite Welcome Connect” model,
designed to greet visitors and integrate them into parish life regardless of
background or orientation. Key practices include dedicated greeters, coffee
hours, community meals, and digital, accessible space, aiming to create a
safe, non-judgemental environment.

Our hospitality ministry plays a major role in the official life and social
life of our parish. Emily Peterson is our chairman of very dedicated
volunteers. For special occasions members of the parish are given a list of
food items needed for the occasion, for example, the Bishop’s annual visit.
On the first Sunday of the month we celebrate
“Birthday-Anniversay Sunday”. Also parish members are encouraged to
take a Sunday for the refreshment hour and also are asked to donate
money to offset the expenses of the ministry. Any monies collected are
reserved for the Hospitality Ministry.

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Fellowship Time

MEALS ON WHEELS

Cheer established its own comprehensive meal program for
homebound seniors within a few years of its founding in 1971. Prior to
Cheer our church used to look after its own as it will do now with meals
taken to their home.
Once Cheer got under way many members of our parish helped
serve their meals.
Today we have four members serving meals.
Pictured at the left are Judy Dean, Fred Dean and Linda Dennis. Absent
from the picture is Jayne Sheahan.

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ALTAR GUILD

The Altar Guild is a volunteer, liturgical ministry within the
Episcopal Church responsible for preparing the sanctuary and
chancel for worship and caring for sacred vessels, vestments, and
linens. Mary Ann Ewell and her volunteers do a wonderful job
completing the weekly tasks for the Sunday service. They also
are prepared to make ready for weddings, funerals, and special
seasons like Christmas and Easter.
Purpose of the Ministry
The ministry acts as a “liturgical partner” to the clergy, allowing
services to run smoothly, which some describe as a form of “quiet service”
that is “most critical” to the church.

Core Responsibilities and Duties
Setup and Cleanup: Preparing the altar and communion stations
before, and cleaning up after Eucharistics services.
Care of Linens and Vessels: Cleaning , polishing, and storing
silver, brass, and altar linens.
Liturgical Changes: Changing altar hangings (paraments) to
reflect the correct liturgical colors for the season (e.g. violet, white, green).
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Sanctuary Decor: Arranging flowers and decorating the church for
special, holy days.
Supplies Management: Maintaining inventories of wine, wafers
and candles

PASTORAL CARE

PRAYER CHANGES THINGS
Prayer Ministry
St. Paul’s maintains an active Prayer Ministry. If you or someone
you know is in need of prayer, please call Karen Swartout and if not
available leave your prayer request.

The parish also provides a prayer list which is on the table in the
sacristy for you to put the first name of person, your name and date
entered.

Emily Peterson and Karen Swartout would be glad to hear from you
to offer your help to provide rides, and/or meals for parishioners in need.

In the past, the Pastoral Care Ministry organized several ladies
luncheons. We hope to do so in the spring….so stay tuned for more
information.

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CARD MAKING

Our own Ruth Myers in the past has helped parishioners with the art
of making cards.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Every August our two elementary schools prepare a list of
needed supplies needed for their students by grade. Our parish has
been most generous in helping to fulfill their needs. Picture to right
went to North Elementary in the fall of 2022.
The picture on the left is Georgetown Elementary in the fall of 2024
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This picture taken after delivery of supplies in the fall of 2025 is with a
student and member of the school staff.
ESL CLASSES
ESL stands for English as a Second Language which refers to
educational programs, classes, or instruction for non-native English
speakers living in an English-speaking environment. It focuses on
improving listening, speaking , reading, and writing skills for immigrants,
refugees, and international students.
Classes began in January of 2020 and ended in March of 2020
because of The Pendemic. Two women of the diocese were chosen from
other churches of the diocese to run the program. One of the women
wasThe Reverend Deacon Chris Marcin-Miller at St. Peter’s in Lewes and
the other was Lee Ann Walling.
A grant was received for educational supplies and a fully equipped
nursery with an experienced bilingual salaried head teacher. There were
thirteen students registered and 16 children were accommodated in the
nursery. Classes were represented by a volunteer from within the parish.
Sharon
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Blackwell of St. Paul’s in Georgetown was a teacher. Volunteer child care
workers were also obtained from within the parish of St. Paul’s where the
classes were to be held as well as St. Peter’s in Lewes, Delaware.Our own
Mary Ann Torkelson answered the call for child care workers.

At the Vestry meeting held April 3, 2022 a discussion was held to
to approve a group approved and paid for by the Diocese to come to St.
Paul’s in July to teach English as a second language. The basement is
presently set up for the ESL class closed during the pandemic. A motion
was made and seconded and voted to accept the new group.

In July 2022 Sharon Blackwell took over as program supervisor. The
previous women were gone. Teachers from Sussex County Adult Ed
donated their time. Money was received from the Diocese to restart the
nursery and to pay Libby Stevenson to run the nursery.

We had a rotating cadre of St. Paul’s volunteers to assist Libby:
Nance Havrilack, Carol Roy, Rick Edwards, Helena Smith, Linda Solum
Bennett, and Jeff Stevenson.
At the end of the 2022 session in December we served the students
and children a lunch in the parish hall.

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During 2023 the same program continued and in December the students
and their children were treated to refreshments.
As a special treat the children were paid a visit by none
other than Santa Clause (Clayton Townsend). Each was given a
present by Santa.
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Unfortunately the program that would be continued for 2024 was
abruptly cancelled and moved to the Georgetown Public Library.
This happened to just about all the ESL programs that were held
where there existed a public library.

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