Serving the Community

“And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord.”

~The Book of Common Prayer

The Outreach Commission at the Church of the Holy Comforter provides a framework for social justice that combines support of traditional Episcopal services and our own congregation’s response to an evolving world outside the church walls. We seek to minister to local, national, and international needs, according to the unique gifts that our faith community can share. Through discernment, prayer, and relationship with the surrounding community, our congregation continually seeks and finds new places and new people to love. The success of our outreach lies within generous volunteer enthusiasm, the supportive dedication of parishioners and friends who fund our endeavors, and the prayerful approach to accepting new challenges. A growing church reveals itself in many ways. We hope that within the following list of opportunities, you might be attracted to join us as we search for ways to show the love of Christ within the arms of our outreach ministries.

Below are listed our current outreach ministries. For more information on a specific ministry, please follow the link when available. If you have more questions or would like to provide assistance in one of these areas, please contact the church office at 410-252-2711.

Our Key Outreach Initiatives

ACTC (Assistance Center of Towson Churches)
As a founding member of ACTC, Holy Comforter collects food throughout the year; however, July is our special month when we work to fulfill a specific food need. This past July, we collected more than fifty bags of tuna and soup.

Food for Thought
There are more than 3000 homeless children attending Baltimore County Public Schools. Although these children will receive one or two daily meals at school, they often go hungry when schools are not in session. CHC has adopted 20 children and their families, and we provide each family with a monthly $50 gift card to the Food Lion grocery store. We invite everyone in our community to contribute to this program with monetary donation. This vital initiative not only relieves suffering now, but gives the children a better start in life through improved nutrition and higher readiness for learning.

If you would like to help us with this project, please call the church at 410-252-2711. For more details, follow the Food for Thought link above. To read a Baltimore Sun article on this effort, click here.

Appalachian Ministries
A team of adult parishioners spends a week at Grace House on the Mountain in southwest Virginia and completes work projects that improve the homes of the needy.

St. Francis Ministry
Join us in October for the Blessing of the Animals. In recognition of St. Francis’ love for all God’s creatures, we invite you to bring your pet(s) to meet and greet each other and be blessed by our clergy. The celebration of St. Francis continues after Sunday worship with a parish-wide community service project. Follow the link above for more details about both events.

Blood Drives
Twice a year, in the fall and spring, we sponsor a community blood drive, coordinated through the American Red Cross. It goes without saying the need for blood is ongoing. Consider donating blood, and know that you have saved possibly three other lives.

CHC supports and/or participates in these additional ministries.

Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center
ERICA (Episcopal Refugee & Immigrant Center Alliance)

As part of our outreach efforts, CHC provides hospitality to other non-profits by offering meeting space to these organizations.

AA
NA
Handel Choir of Baltimore
Kiwanis
Key Club