Social Ministry
St. Paul’s is actively engaged in reaching out to its surrounding neighborhood, the city of Washington, DC, the country and the world through its social ministry efforts. We have numerous service opportunities available throughout the year and are always seeking volunteers to help us to God’s work with our hands.
If you are interested in joining the social ministry planning team, volunteering for an activity, or learning more about this ministry, please contact Melissa Blauvelt or contact one of the volunteer contacts listed below.
Men’s Shelter
St. Paul’s has a five bed men’s shelter right in the church building. It is a transitional shelter for homeless men who are moving off of the street or out of a large shelter and are in the process of rebuilding their lives in order to move into permanent housing. We provide a bed, a safe place to store belongings, shower and laundry facilities. The residents receive case management services from our ministry partners, Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place and Miriam’s Kitchen. Every night, the men receive a home cooked meal every night courtesy of our shelter meal volunteers. If you are interested in providing meals to the residents or mentoring a shelter resident, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Food Pantry
St. Paul’s hosts a food pantry on the first and third Saturday of every month from 10am to noon. The pantry is fully operated by volunteers on a rotating basis. Over the course of a year, the food pantry provides over 13,000 pounds of food to more than 2,500 individuals. We partner with the DC Capital Area Food Bank to supplement the traditional pantry items with fresh produce, dairy and meats. Our dedicated volunteers stock shelves, hand out food, give recipe advice, and interact with the clients on a personal level. If you are interested in volunteering at the food pantry, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Gifts of Hope
Gifts of Hope is an alternative gift-program of the DC Metropolitan Synod that runs during the Advent season. Instead of buying someone a boring old sweater for Christmas, Gifts of Hope offers the opportunity to buy a meaningful gift for someone else in their honor, such as: medical services for indigent DC residents, books for schools in Tanzania, or treats for a summer camp for children affected by HIV-AIDS. If you are interested in volunteering to staff the Gifts of Hope table during Advent, or would like to purchase an item, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Six Sundays of Summer Service
In the summer, St. Paul’s youth and adults gather for an hour after the 10 a.m. service for six consecutive Sundays to engage in mini service projects to benefit the community. Projects include decorating reusable shopping bags for clients of the food pantry, making bags of trail mix for the drop in center at Friendship Place, participating in a church service with residents of the Methodist Home, and assembling back to school kits for DC public school children.
Mission and Disaster Relief Trips
St. Paul’s mission trips and disaster relief trips provide a wonderful opportunity for church members and friends to spend a week (or longer) in daily service to improve the lives of others. Whether rebuilding houses along the Mississippi Gulf or volunteering at an orphanage in Zambia, these trips are truly life changing.
St. Paul's most recent mission trip was to Southern Indiana to help clean up after tornadoes ravaged the area on March 2, 2012. We were able to bring the Good News of the Gospel to the people of Southern Indiana who are still trying to rebuild their homes and their lives. The volunteers from St. Paul's helped remove trees and branches from three properties that had been damaged by the tornado. Please click here to see photos of the mission trip to Indiana. Along with Pastor Tom, Vicar Joanna, and Deaconess Cassie, other volunteers from St. Paul's were Anya Burt, Nancy Morrison, John Wannen, Roger Branstiter, Tommy Omholt, and Carol Vreim. Stay tuned for information about upcoming trips.