The heart of Redeemer Episcopal Church is in outreach, with prolific engagement in external ministries. We know that the work of the church is not done just on Sunday mornings or on the church campus.
We host an annual Blessing of the Pets in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, near his feast day early in October. We invite people from surrounding neighborhoods to bring their pets for a blessing and a “family” photo.
The Episcopal Diocese of Dallas encourages partnerships between its parishes & local schools through its One Church One School Initiative, recognized as a Jubilee Ministry. Through Irving ISD Partners in Education, we mentor students at W.T. Hanes Elementary by serving as pen pals and reading buddies, and by donating school supplies in August. We also host teacher appreciation events, & conduct a summer reading camp.
Family Promise of Irving, an alliance of twelve local churches, provides food, housing, & life skills training for homeless families. We partner with Woodhaven Presbyterian Church by providing meals, overnight hosts, & van drivers.
Annually, we send a group to work at the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB), which provides a shared experience for our adults and youth. These volunteer hours earn free food that is distributed from NTFB to Irving Cares.
The “sandwich crew,” a dedicated group of parishioners, makes dozens of sandwiches to be distributed at Austin Street Shelter in Dallas throughout the week. We also collect winter items for shelter clients.
We collect clothing to donate to One Man’s Treasure, a ministry that provides professional clothing, appropriate for job interviews, for men who have left incarceration.
The completion of our new parish hall has allowed us to provide meeting space for a variety of local groups, such as the Irving Chorale, Toastmasters, a Cub Scout troop, and our surrounding neighborhood association.
Irving Cares is our local food bank, which we regularly assist by collecting & delivering non-perishable food items. Seasonally, we focus on holiday meals and a collection of box fans, and participate in the Souper Bowl of Caring.
We have participated in several Mission Trips: our youth helped restore a reservation in Tahlequah, OK; we aided with hurricane recovery in Biloxi, MS and Galveston, TX; in Arequipa, Peru we helped build a school and an orphanage, and offered medical screening clinics; and we sponsor several Peruvian orphans through Project Hope.
Other annual outreach projects include: Blue Christmas (a project of the Irving Fire & Police Department to collect toys for needy children), and collecting funds for Heifer International.
Explore what our outreach partners do:
Click on any image to go to a partner site.
