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Mission & Outreach

St. David's is involved in a variety of areas of Mission & Outreach both locally and overseas. Local outreach centers around activities at St. Luke's Community House at 5601 New York Avenue in the west Nashville area, and at the Campus for Human Development at 532 8th Avenue South in downtown Nashville. Overseas opportunities are focused on Uganda, our companion diocese of Litoral (Ecuador), the diocese of Honduras, and two dioceses in Mexico.

Nashville Area Programs

St. Luke's Community House, a non-profit social service agency founded by the Episcopal churches in Middle Tennessee in 1913, provides a variety of services in a low-income area. Meals on Wheels, tutoring, and helping with the annual Christmas Toy Store are just a few of the ways in which parishioners participate. The Fred Rogers Community Center at St. Luke's houses a gymnasium, a library, and a daycare center. The This 'n That Thrift Shop receives donations of used household items and clothing. Proceeds from their sale benefit St. Luke's, and many of St. David's parishioners volunteer to staff the shop. The West Nashville Community Development Partnership assists in making home repairs on the second Saturday of each month in the St. Luke's neighborhood and has recently constructed two new houses. St. David's also contributes to Rooftop Ministries, which helps with housing for low-income families.

The Campus for Human Development provides services for the homeless population. During the winter months from November 1 through March 30, St. David's hosts Room in the Inn, providing meals and lodging for participants on Saturday nights. The Sunday Lunch Program offers a meal on Sundays when most other organizations and agencies are closed. St. David's was also instrumental in creating the Art Room at the Campus. Classes are offered daily.

Every Wednesday at noon, parishioners of St. David's join together with two of our sister parishes in Nashville, St. Ann's and Holy Trinity, for the Hispanic Lunch Program when we celebrate the Eucharist together (in Spanish), provide a home-cooked luncheon and show a move for the Hispanic population served by the Campus for Human Development. From twenty-five to fifty people attend the weekly service, meal, and entertainment. Our guests also help with the preparation and clean-up, and several have been baptized. Funding for the program comes from fund-raisers at St. David's, our operating budget, private donations, and diocesan funds.

International Programs

For the past six years, mission teams from St. David's and from the Diocese of Tennessee have traveled to Guayaquil, Ecuador, in the Diocese of Litoral. St. David's was the first parish in our diocese to have a companion parish, La Gracia de Dios, in the province of Ventanas. St. David's helps to provide supplies and financial support for La Gracia de Dios. Current projects include adding classroom space and building a playground.

The Rev. Goldi Santana, former rector of La Gracia de Dios, is now working in Veracruz, in the diocese of Southeast Mexico. Goldi was the first woman ordained in the Episcopal Church in Latin America. We are supporting her by providing materials for her ministry.

La Iglesia de Epifanía near San Pedro Sula, Honduras, is also a recipient of St. David's mission focus. We presently sponsor a scholarship program to benefit more than fifty children there as well as in other outlying areas. St. David's parishioners who frequently travel to Honduras work with our dear friend, the Rev. Francisco Peña, a priest in the Diocese of Honduras. At San Lucas, his former parish, St. David's has assisted with the construction of a new multi-purpose building that provided employment for many of the people in the area. The two-story building is used for clinics, Christian Education, and meetings. There is a library for both children and adults, with books supplied by St. David's Mission & Outreach funds. At Epifanìa we have worked with Trinity Church, Clarksville, to construct a playground for the children and a children´s chapel. At present we are helping a school in the remote area of Banderas. The elementary school has no water system or fencing, and we are helping to provide these necessities.

St. David's outreach also involves a school in Las Cañas, Guanajuato, Mexico. The school is located in an impoverished area on the outskirts of San Miguel de Allende. We have helped with the construction of a new kitchen and the children receive two meals a day. In addition, new bathroom facilities have been built on the site. New projects include building a library and a playground. Mission teams regularly visit the school, which includes grades K - 6, and present them with books and school supplies.

With leadership from St. David´s, St. Bartholomew´s, St. James the Less, and Holy Trinity parishes, we have undertaken a diocesan project to help the children in Uganda. Called "Invisible Children" and "Commuter Children," they are the victims of the 20-year-old civil war in the northern part of that country. These children walk 5 to 10 miles daily to sleep in shelters to avoid being abducted in the night by the rebel army. "Child Mothers," young girls who are used as sex slaves by the army, are also victims. We are collecting school materials and sewing supplies to help these children.

Other Efforts

Parishioners give "hands-on" and financial support to many other areas of Mission & Outreach including:

T.N.T. (Tying Nashville Together), a consortium of congregations of many faiths and denominations in Metropolitan Nashville which works to achieve equity in schools, better quality of life in neighborhoods, more affordable housing, and improved health care.
St. David's Endowment Fund, benefiting any number of organizations and agencies such as Alive Hospice, Nashville CARES, Senior Citizens, Inc., and Pastoral Counseling Services of Tennessee.
Lenten Food Drive when parishes and missions throughout our diocese collect canned goods and non-perishable items for distribution to those with little or no food.
The Magdalene Project which assists women with a history of drug addiction and prostitution.

If you would like to be a part of St. David's Mission & Outreach, please call 615-352-0293 or send us an