St. James Episcopal Church

Outreach Ministries

Boy & Girl Scouts
Troop 5, Istrouma Council, of the Boy Scouts of America has been sponsored by St. James for over 80 years. Information on Girl Scouts can be found by calling St. James Day School office at 344-0805.

Food Pantry
Volunteers meet on the first and third Wednesday mornings to bag and distribute food to the needy. Much of the food is donated by parish members.

Habitat for Humanity
Through both volunteer and monetary assistance, St. James has been involved in building several homes for the needy. This is a wonderful way to serve the Lord and enjoy fellowship with no special skills required to assist in painting, carpentry, or clean up.

Volunteers in Public Schools
Logo for VIPS St. James has recently joined forces with Volunteers in Public Schools. V.I.P.S. trains and places tutors in East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools. When children are given the opportunity to work one on one with an adult their reading and math skills greatly improve. Please consider volunteering your time to make a difference in the life of a child. The time commitment is minimal; just half an hour twice monthly. We hope to have volunteers in place by January 2008. Please contact Elizabeth Whitley at either 927-6173 or ebw929@cox.net or Susan Rolfs at 343-1305 or ebw929@cox.net.

Prison Ministries

Angel Tree Project
For over 19 years St. James has "adopted" children of indigent prisoners at Christmas to purchase toys and clothing for them.

Church of the Transfiguration
On the first Tuesday of each month members of St. James join other Episcopalian clergy and lay persons to hold services in three camps at Angola State Prison.

Kairos
Kairos is an international, interdenominational ministry often described as a Curisillo for male or female prisoners. Time commitments include several Saturday training sessions, a weekend retreat, and the weekend Kairos program inside the prison.

Prison Chapel Foundation
An ecumenical group of Christians committed to building a chapel on the grounds of all Louisiana prisons. Five have been built and sixteen more are needed. Opportunities include Fund Raising, Engineering and Construction, and Public Relations.

School Partnership
Volunteers provide one-on-one academic tutoring and help teachers in the classrooms at Dufrocq Elementary School. Time requirement is one to two hours per week for at least one semester.

We Care Bags
Are small bags of food given to anyone who comes to the Ministries Center door and asks. The bags supply part of the nutritional needs of many of the homeless and transitional people who live from hand to mouth on the streets of our city.