“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

The St. Patrick’s vestry has formed nine committees to accomplish the many parish ministries. Following are the nine ministries by title and the many associated ministers under each title.

This may seem like a long list, but every one of these details are the normal and regular ministries of St. Patrick’s. The members, are actually doing all these things!

Notice that two traditional ministries do not have a committee- Stewardship and Evangelism.
Stewardship isn’t only the pledge drive, it really means taking care of all our resources, our worship, our identity as an Episcopal Church, how we care for each other, what we study, etc., etc. We are called to “steward” every aspect of our parish.

Evangelism is the sum total of all our efforts to share the Good News, in worship and teaching & reaching out to the rest of the world. Every ministry needs to remember our purpose which is to spread the Good News in our words and in our actions.

We may soon initiate some special actions in this regard, advertising, welcoming newcomers, helping them to be part of our parish. You may remember an initiative called “Invite, Welcome, and Connect”, which is one program for doing evangelism. Look for something along those lines in the future, but in more depth.

All our ministries should focus on sharing and living the Good News of the gift of eternal life that God has given us through our Savior Jesus Christ. That is how the church began and that is the only way it will survive.

So, here are our ministries, categorized by committee titles. Which ministry are you called to? Which are you already doing?

We will be asking each committee to address some specific needs and tasks of St. Patrick’s. There are plenty of things to do, and we can do them.

A special ministry of St. Patrick’s which has involved many local people and other non-profit organizations was begun in 2019 which serves two local schools, Dunbar elementary in nearby Glen Ellen, California and Kenwood elementary in St. Patrick’s hometown, Kenwood. Most of the students at these schools are multiethnic and vulnerable children.

Becoming Beloved Schools Ministry

The mission of the project is to establish a long-term commitment of advocacy for social justice rooted in “Love Your Neighbor”. The project is named “Becoming Beloved Community-Schools (BBC)”. The project has raised thousands of dollars through donations and grants which have provided funds for playground equipment, books, secret Santa gifts, and most importantly served to purchase 15 cellos plus the instruction for the young musicians of the ViVO Youth Orchestra.

The BBC group is currently prioritizing continual support for the orchestra and support of the libraries, including the generous help of readings tutors.