Christ Church Outreach News: July 3, 2025
- Christ Episcopal Church
- Jul 3
- 4 min read
Parishioners Represent Christ Church at a Celebration of Somos Amigos Medical Missions’ 25th Anniversary
Somos Amigos Medical Missions invited supporters to gaze into its past while looking to the future at a recent 25th anniversary celebration. The event was held on June 28 at Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Md., the place where Somos Amigos’ founders first connected with a remote village in the Dominican Republic.
Dr. Michael Keegan was honored as a board member emeritus. He is the nonprofit organization’s first physician who made more than 40 trips prior to his retirement, as described on the Somos Amigos Facebook page. The event brought together volunteers who have traveled to the mountainous village of Naranjito, where Somos Amigos holds quarterly clinics.
Christ Church was represented by parishioners George and Shahra Toth and Jim and Dione Mahoney, who gathered with other volunteers, past and present. Many participants got involved long ago while at Georgetown Prep.
“More than 20 years ago, one physician and one dentist, one teacher and six high school students responded to a petition from an isolated farming community with no electricity and no running water,” Somos Amigos says in an online history posted for the event. “What began as a project to bring fresh water to a small village in rural Dominican Republic is now a lively primary school and a bustling health clinic that serves over 5,000 people for miles around.”
The next clinics will take place on July 12-19, 2025, October 11-18, 2025, and January 10-17, 2026. To learn more about volunteering, click here. Or ask past volunteers at Christ Church to share experiences. Besides the Toths and the Mahoneys, they include physicians Preethi Jackson and Ellen Boudreau Hoke.
Christ Church is a longstanding supporter of Somos Amigos, in part due to the encouragement of former parishioners Mary and Ed Keath. In recent years, we have welcomed Executive Director and CEO Frank Brightwell to make an annual visit. (You can view his sermon on March 9 during the 10:30 service at this link on YouTube.)
During the visit, he expressed thanks for our monetary and spiritual support and updated the congregation on the progress of several patients whom we have helped. You can read about the care for Euclides, a cancer patient, and his ongoing recovery in the Outreach Blog of May 29, 2025 and the Outreach Blog of June 19, 2025.
Lake Elkhorn Middle School Partnership Update
This has been a year of growth for our partnership with Lake Elkhorn Middle School. For the first time, our parishioners have generously supported the monthly Kindness Pantry by contributing food and household goods, as well as helping with the on-site delivery of items. With each subsequent month this year, the number of families visiting the Pantry has increased, making the need very real. We have also used your financial contributions to support the positive academic and socio-emotional growth of our students.
School is now out for the summer, but it's time to start our annual fundraising campaign to support school supplies for the students at LEMS. Each year, we ask for the congregation's support in providing school supplies and backpacks for at least 125 children. We don’t have a line in the church's annual budget for this, so we rely on and deeply appreciate your direct support. Thank you.
You can give to the LEMS campaign by writing a check to Christ Church with "LEMS" in the memo line, or you can give online at https://onrealm.org/christchurchcolumbia/give/lems. Either way, your gifts are very much appreciated.
Columbia Community Care Takes a Break on Independence Day Weekend
Columbia Community Care (CCC) will close its pantry and distribution sites on Saturday, July 5, for the holiday. The pantry is also closed on Friday, July 4. However, you can still donate at church. Please collect baby-care items and diapers. Larger sizes are in greatest demand. Put them along with sanitary and personal care items and adult diapers in the yellow bin, marked “CCC,” inside the Parish Hall. Drop off items on weekdays when the church office is open or on Sundays. The Christ Church point of contact is Leigh Smith, who monitors the bin and delivers its contents.
CCC offers home deliveries to individuals in need who lack transportation. That process requires a shopper to fulfill grocery lists at the pantry and then deliver goods to the recipients’ homes. To volunteer at the sites or as a translator or shopper, go to “Volunteer Opportunities.” Those who need help are urged to go to “Get Help” on CCC’s website. Find updates on the CCC Facebook page.
FISH Asks for Volunteers As Well as Groceries and Toiletries in its Bin and Basket
FISH of Howard County is calling for volunteers. If you are interested, ask parishioner Andy DeLong, who is FISH treasurer and a board member of the nonprofit, which provides committed support to Howard County residents.
Please continue to put non-perishable foods and toiletries in the FISH basket at the altar or in the bin on the breezeway. The neighbors you help are grateful for all you do in their support.
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.
