About Us Justice Ministries
H.E.L.P. - Help Empower Local People
H.E.L.P. is a local community organization that works to bring different faith communities together to improve life, services, and opportunities for all people here in the Charlotte area. It is an affiliate of IAF - Industrial Areas Foundation, which operates on the principal that people in a community are the ones who can best identify their needs and then make change happen. H.E.L.P crosses denominational, racial, and ethnic boundaries to bring persons of faith together in shared purpose. The current areas of actions at the present time are around equity in public education and availability of decent and affordable housing in a rapidly growing city and metropolitan area. Speak with Fr. Smith or Fr. Womack if you want more information.
Companion Parish Ministry
After Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi, recognition quickly developed that there was need for ongoing and long-term involvement in the recovery and rebuilding process. Inviting St. Peter's Episcopal Church, St. Patrick's Mission, and Church of the Holy Comforter to join with St. Martin's in establishing what has come to be known as the Charlotte Connection. These four parishes have formed a companion parish relationship with Christ Church, Bay St. Louis, in the Diocese of Mississippi. Different groups of adults and youth have been (and will continue to do so) on mission trips to Bay St. Louis to help clear the storm damage from the church property, to work with families rebuilding their homes and their lives, and whatever else is needed. This work will continue for at least five years. Speak with Tim Meyers or Rebecca Yarbrough if you want more information.
Episcopal Urban Caucus
M.D.G. - Millenium Development Goals
Absalom Jones Day - A Celebration of Gospel Hospitality
Absalom Jones was the first African-American to be ordained deacon (1795) and priest (1802) in The Episcopal Church. He served as Rector of St. Thomas the African Episcopal Church (1794) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was an ardent preacher and outspoken advocate for the rights of African-Americans as the new American Republic was being shaped.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ calls us to welcome all of the children of God into our midst. This celebration is a reminder and a challenge for us to continue growing in that hospitality of Christ.
Jonathan Daniels Day - A Celebration of Gospel Justice
Jonathan Daniel was a young Episcopal seminarian who, as a Civil Rights worker in Alabama, was martyred in 1965. He gave his life standing between his murderer and an innocent young woman. He and Martin Luther King are the two Americans listed in the Book of Martyrs in Canterbury Cathedral, mother church of The Anglican Communion.
