Helping Others
St. Francis Episcopal Church has always had an active Outreach program of helping others locally, nationally, and internationally. An Outreach Committee meets throughout the year to discuss Outreach projects, such providing food for the homeless or furnishing homes for refugees, and to plan fundraisers and hands-on projects. Contact the church office to find out more, and plan to join our next meeting. Some of our ongoing projects are described below.
Ezo, South Sudan
St. Francis has had a relationship with the Diocese of Ezo in a remote part of South Sudan for more than 25 years. In a place of great poverty and violence, the faithful Christians of Ezo pray for our church, and we pray for them and help them with their building projects, schools, and more. Read a report from Bishop Isaac in Ezo, which describes Ezo’s 2024 Peace Conference, held with support from St. Francis: Ezo Peace Conference, October 2024. For a summary of St. Francis’s support to Ezo over recent years, read the March 2025 update.
In April 2025, St. Francis sent $5,000 from the Black Tie Dinner fundraiser to Ezo to help the diocese feed and clothe the many refugees arriving from Tambura, the Central African Republic, and the Congo, seeking to escape violence. Bishop Isaac used the money for food and for the ever-expanding schools. See this video of refugees in Ezo picking up their bundles of food: Video of May 2025
Grate Patrol
Feeding the homeless in DC and in Loudoun County has been nicknamed “Grate Patrol” because so many of the homeless in DC live on heating grates. Several times throughout the year, the people of St. Francis make hundreds of bag meals and then deliver them to the homeless through this Salvation Army program.
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota
This relatively recent project involves knitting warm mittens, scarves, and socks and sending them to the mission Episcopal Church at Pine Ridge to help the residents. We also send coats and sweaters and are looking at other ways to help these Christians.
Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington
St. Francis was one of the founding churches of Samaritan Ministry, which helps the homeless and poor in downtown DC and in some of the nearby suburbs. We continue to support their work through fundraising and a special effort at Christmas.
Second Story
St. Francis supports Second Story’s homeless teen shelter in Fairfax County by providing meals on Sunday evenings for residents and counselors. We also hold a school supplies drive in late summer to gather supplies for children whose families cannot support them.
