BY BILL THOMPSON

I was asked to provide my thoughts on what "mission" and "outreach" at St. James's means to me. A starting point was the St. James's website--under "mission" it lists the many things that we as a parish, and as individual parishioners, do to help others. My family and I participate in several of them, including Easter and Christmas baskets, back to school supplies, etc. As part of the "8:00er's group", each month we make casseroles for Loaves and Fishes, a soup kitchen feeding people in the Asylum Hill area, and South Park Inn, a homeless shelter in Hartford. It makes me feel good to be of help to the community that is much larger than St. James's. It's also a way of giving thanks for all the bounty that I have received by giving to others that don't have as much.
The relevance of this work came to a head recently in conjunction with my role as coordinator between St. James's and FoodShare and the Town of West Hartford for the Senior Supplmental Food Program for indigent seniors, which we support once a month. A new recipient came by to receive his box of food. When Joe Rose and I handed it to him, he broke down in tears--he didn't know where his next meal would be coming from and we were there to help. The three of us hugged and Joe led a prayer. We stay in touch with this person each month. This anecdote drives home how relevant our mission and outreach work is to the broader community that we need to serve.
To close, my perspective on how we can be relevant in serving the broader community can be summarized in the following quote by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'what are you doing for others?'"