Christ Church Outreach News: August 6, 2026
- Christ Episcopal Church
- 3 days ago
- 8 min read
Zoom to Uganda with Friends of Sabina at Noon this Sunday, Aug. 9; Enjoy a Light Lunch While Bonding with Students During Our Annual Hybrid Meetup
Students at Sabina Boarding Primary School are getting ready to interact with you during our annual Zoom meetup with Friends of Sabina (FOS), the nonprofit organization that supports the school in rural Uganda. Plan to attend remotely or in person at noon this Sunday, August 9. Gather in the Great Hall of New Brick after the 10:30 worship service; enjoy a light lunch and dessert.
We’ll hear from students and on-site leaders about personal and campus progress since our 2025 meetup. It’s a great show-and-tell! FOS operates the primary school and a nursery program that together enroll several hundred students in Sanje, Uganda. Nearly a dozen parishioners began sponsoring individual students in 2020, as described on the FOS page of the Christ Church website. FOS is now recruiting an additional sponsor... and it could be you! To learn more, email outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org.
Christ Church began supporting Sabina Primary School more than a decade ago by first establishing a library, which has become a resource for the surrounding community. The Outreach Commission recently approved donating $3,300 to FOS to pay the librarian’s salary, online periodical subscriptions, and a portion of internet fees. Funds come from the Vestry-approved Outreach budget derived from your pledges and contributions. Thanks!
Inviting You to Join Our Monthly Outreach Meeting this Monday
Learn many ways to help others by joining us remotely for the Outreach Commission meeting on Monday, Aug. 10, at 7:30 p.m. Our mission has a local, national, and international scope.
You'll also find the link in our This Week on Zoom email on Monday, and we'll see you there!
Help Feed the Homeless this Monday, with One Change to our Routine
On the second Monday of each month (this month, it's August 10), Christ Church serves a hot midday meal at the Day Resource Center (DRC) in Jessup and provides the menu for an evening meal at the emergency shelter in Columbia. Both are operated by the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, which has requested earlier delivery of the shelter’s food than in the past.
As a result, the drop-off for the evening side dishes has been moved up to 12:45 p.m. That will coincide with the group arriving at the parking lot near Old Brick to drop off DRC items or to join the carpool that departs at 1 p.m. for the Leola Dorsey Center in Jessup.
A team led by Outreach member Shahra Toth serves the midday meal in person. To help on Monday, Aug. 10, please check our DRC online signup form, which describes the procedure. We last participated on July 13. To bring food for the shelter’s evening meal, check our Grassroots online signup form. It’s efficient to provide for both venues on the same day, feeding more than 150 people in total. Your donations and Vestry-approved funds pay for the fried-chicken entrees. Thank you!
Your generosity has again helped ease life for our homeless neighbors, who rely on the DRC for pantry items that include food, sundries, and more. Responding to a DRC request, the Outreach Commission approved spending $285 for 67 pairs of shorts and 20 hats. We used funds that had been donated to the church by parishioners giving to “General Outreach.” A hearty thanks!
LEMS, Christ Church's Nearby Middle School, Needs Our Assistance. You Can Be That Help.
Last Sunday, Lake Elkhorn Middle School Outreach's Cathy Whittaker caught us up at church on plans for this coming fall. Here's what she said:
"We had the pleasure of meeting with the new LEMS Principal, Tony Esposito, last week. He has been a teacher and principal for over 20 years in Howard County and is excited about his new position.
We also met with Cindy Drummond (our liaison), and we talked about possible ways that we can work together over the coming school year. The committee is so pleased to have Cindy in the position of Community School Site Coordinator, as she knows what the students and teachers actually need for the upcoming school year and helps us avoid duplicating the efforts of other organizations that help support the school.
The first thing that we discussed was purchasing Agenda Books for all the middle school students. In the past, the district provided these, but that is no longer the case. Agenda Books would be very helpful as they provide a standardized year-long planner in which students would record their assignments and other school events.
We will also be funding appreciation events for the teachers to support staff social-emotional health and well-being. There is no money in the county budget for teacher appreciation. Therefore, it is up to the PTSA to raise funds for such activities. As you can imagine, most schools have a much bigger PTSA budget because families in those schools are able to contribute much more. We could partner with the PTSA for things like breakfasts, cook-outs, and the health bags that we distributed last year. We will be putting together health bags and delivering them to the teachers. We would be welcome to actually come to provide a breakfast or other event, or just fund it.
We also will be ordering school supplies that are on the school supply list. The amount that we can provide is dependent upon your contributions. Last year we were able to purchase enough items to help 125 students start out the school year. We will not be putting the supplies in backpacks since other organizations provide these and the school actually has backpacks left over from the previous year.
We will continue to help with the monthly pantry as we have in the past. We distribute protein boxes of fresh food from the Roving Radish after school on the third Wednesday of each month. We also deliver non-perishable food on that day that is distributed by school social workers to families who are particularly challenged economically.
Volunteers are always welcome. They include one-time and weekly commitments for activities such as:
Lunch and recess monitoring
Classroom tutors
Mash-Up Day (6th Grade August)
Turkey Trot (November)
National History Day (January)
Field Days (June)
There are other activities that we don't quite have the funding for right now without your help. For example, Liz Thurston is the teacher in the Academic Life Skills class (ALS). This is a self-contained classroom for students whose IEP team has determined they would benefit from this program. Liz needs funding for two enrichment programs:
Kind Cafe - The students sell coffee and treats to staff for a minimal cost. They learn to interact with others, keep a budget, and other activities related to running a small business.
Best Buddies - LEMS "typical" students are paired with students in the ALS class about 4 times a year and they have parties with a variety of activities. It helps the ALS student feel more a part of the school and teaches the buddies to better understand students with disabilities.
If you would like to give financially to LEMS, you can write a check and put "LEMS" in the memo line, or you can give online using the LEMS drop-down label.
We need your help for the School Block Party on Friday, August 21. That is the day the school supplies will be delivered around 10:00, so you could help load supplies and drive over to the school. We also need people to be at the table from 11:00 to 2:00 to let attendees know about CEC church activities.
Cindy is always very generous in offering ways that LEMS can support us as well. She will advertise church events (e.g., the flea market, dinners) in the weekly LEMS Heart Smiles Bulletin. Finally, she offered to help with a Clean Up Day at CEC, if we give her some lead time. If you are on a committee that might benefit from LEMS student help, please let us know.
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Apologies for the very long message. If you have questions, please contact us! You can email LEMSPC@christchurchcolumbia.org to reach us directly, or speak with me, Jenny Cecil, Jan DeBoissiere, or Sara Kirkpatrick at church any time! We deeply appreciate your strong commitment to this partnership and are excited to have you join us in this endeavor."
Christ Church has a beautiful and long-standing relationship with LEMS, assisting them in many times of need. You can see your fellow parishioners' generous work on our website's many LEMS-related blog posts. The fact that there are more than one hundred posts speaks to the loving-kindness and unconditional action that Christ Church puts behind its LEMS ministry. Click that link to read those, and thank you for your prayerful consideration in 2026!
Bring Lightweight, Natural-fiber Clothing by Aug. 30 for an Outreach Collection to Help Visually-Impaired People and their Families in Nigeria
Christ Church is supporting a late-summer clothing drive by the Living Above Limitation Charity Foundation (LALCF), which sends lightweight, natural-fiber garments to visually impaired people in Nigeria. Their disabled residents and their families face greater barriers than the general population and may not be able to afford sufficient clothing.
Dr. Liz Trimnell of Laurel, MD, founded the charity to provide Braille classes, vocational training, white canes, and similar aids to the blind. Read about its work on its Facebook page. She made a presentation last spring to the Outreach Commission, which is sponsoring the drive under the direction of Sonni Aribiah. Her planned shipment by ocean freighter is scheduled to arrive in time for Christmas in Calabar, Nigeria, Sonni’s hometown. The visually impaired men and women who rely on LALCF for better lives – and their spouses and children – eagerly anticipate its arrival.
At Christ Church, the deadline is Sunday, August 30, which is the same day as our Parish Festival & Ministry Fair. Look for the marked box in the Narthex. New or gently used clothing should be suitable for wear in a tropical climate and made of cotton, linen, flax, bamboo, and other natural fibers. No synthetics! Please bring the following:
Adult – t-shirts and polo shirts (Sizes S–XL); lightweight pants and jeans (waist sizes 28–42); shorts (S-XL); casual button-down shirts (S-XL); t-shirts (Sizes S-XL or 6-18); casual dresses and skirts (Sizes S–XL); blouses and tops (Sizes S-XL or 6-18).
Children – everyday play clothes for boys and girls; school-appropriate, all sizes; infant and toddler clothes, all sizes.
Please Fill the Altar Basket and Parish Hall Bin with Goods for FISH/CCC
FISH and Columbia Community Care (CCC) partnered last year and merged pantries. CCC continues to hand out food by home delivery to Howard County residents and at three sites on Saturday mornings, except on holiday weekends. For information, go online to Get Help.
FISH continues to pick up donated goods from Christ Church and others. Please put non-perishable food and personal care products in the altar basket or in a bin just inside the Parish Hall. Look for a combo label “FISH/CCC”. Please bring baby wipes and diapers, especially large sizes.
FISH will continue to provide telephone support to Howard County residents to provide guidance and financial support because the personal touch is very important when people are in crisis. For information, ask parishioner and FISH treasurer Andy DeLong or email andydelong.fish@gmail.com.
You could be the one to lend a helping hand by lending an ear! As a phone volunteer, you can help from your home by giving just one day a month to assist those who could benefit from financial assistance from FISH. Training is provided. Thank you!
In general, if you have suggestions about ways to help the community, if you want to get involved, or if you need assistance, please email Christ Church Outreach at outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org. Your help is greatly welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.
