110 Thanksgiving food boxes were packed for distribution! Many thanks to our volunteers, Shop-Rite of Rio Grande and everyone who gave donations!

110 food boxes were distributed for Christmas. Thank you for helping to make this possible!

30 families received gifts from the Advent Tree this year. 
Thank you to everyone who made our Christmas outreach projects possible!

300 blankets were purchased, labeled with "Wrapped in God's Love" and blessed for distribution to the homeless in Cape May County. The blankets were made possible by a donation from Heavenly Scavengers and the proceeds of a quilt raffle held in the summer of 2011.  
A beautiful handmade quilt was donated to St. Mary's by the  Wetlands institute Quilters in thanks for using our parish hall for their Quilt Show each year. We decided to raffle this quilt to help the less fortunate families in our community this winter and use the proceeds to purchase blankets. Chances were available at Thursdays on the Lawn throughout the summer. The Drawing was held at our last summer concert on August 11. The lucky winners are pictured here. A little over $500 was realized to purchased blankets. What a great success this raffle turned to be for our neighbors in Cape May County! 

Click here to read a sampling of St. Mary's growing outreach.

Many thanks to the wonderful volunteers and coordinators from St. Mary's, Our Saviour Lutheran & St. Brendan the Navigator Parish. You helped to make St. Mary's a home for the families who stayed with us the week of Nov. 27th. Your care is appreciated. 
To learn how the Family Promise program is making a difference, check their web site. To see how you can get involved, contact the church office.

Grocery Gift Cards have been a successful new fundraiser that has helped us to meet our budget for 2011. They are available in various denominations at Sunday coffee hours for Acme and Shop-Rite. For every $1,000, St. Mary's makes a profit of $50. To date, St. Mary's has realized a profit of $4,666.25. Please keep these cards in mind for your holiday grocery shopping - buy your groceries and help St. Mary's at the same time!

Parish Life planned a fun evening at the Stone Harbor Elementary School for all ages...
Square Dancing, bobbing for apples, hot dogs & refreshments... everyone had a really good time!

In July, our Vestry endorsed the formation of a Recovery Ministries Team to heighten awareness of the problem of drug / alcohol addiction through education and information dissemination and to make St. Mary's a leader in the area of addiction awareness and treatment resources. The Committee is now seeking volunteers to join the team. We will be exploring the effects of addiction, in all of its forms, in relation to the church's mission, building awareness of the problems of addiction, and helping the addicted and those who love them connect with spiritual resources. If you are interested in being a part of the committee or have questions, please contact the church office.

130 backpacks requested, packed and distributed along with many, many school supplies! Thanks to all for your selfless generosity! Many children in need in Cape May County were able to begin the school year prepared for success!  Backpacks and supplies were presented to local schools at the Annual Blessing of the Backpacks & Hot Dog Festival on August 21 at The Branches.
Click on the picture for a picture video of the event.

At the Easter Vigil we read from the book of Genesis the account of creation..."and God saw that it was good..." Good Friday coincidentally was Earth Day. Mike Schut, economic and environmental affairs officer for the Episcopal Church, noted: "To fully honor Earth Day, we need to reclaim the theology that knows earth is 'very good,' is holy. When we fully recognize that, our actions just may begin to create a more sustainable compassionate economy and way of life."  
We are excited to announce that St. Mary's Vestry has decided to pursue Green Faith certification. This will be our focus for the next two years. Please read the letter from our Rector here.

Celebrating our past, preserving our future...
St. Mary's has gone solar! A Service of Blessing and Dedication was held on Sunday, Nov. 28th in the Mary Garden.  St. Mary's congregation celebrated our church "going green" and gave thanks for the benefactors who made it possible. You can read a great article written by Caitlin Dineen of the Press of Atlantic City here. The photographs were taken by Press photographer Sean M. Fitzgerald.