Social Concerns

Benevolence and Social Concerns are addressed at St. Philip's throughout the year. Below is list of some of the areas in which the members of St. Philip's serve the needs of their community.

• St. Philip's Disaster Relief: Teams of volunteers, with varied skills, respond to natural disasters, helping victims rebuild their homes and lives. Efforts range from day- to week-long trips. Relief work has been done in Mississippi and Texas following hurricanes, and Minnesota and Iowa following flooding.
• Backpacks and School Supplies for Children: Every summer we collect school supplies for distribution to children in our area through CEAP (Community Emergency Assistance Program).
• Center for the Victims of Torture: This organization serves people from all over the world who have been victims of torture. St. Philip's makes known the needs and encourages members to participate as volunteers.
• Children's Sabbath: On this weekend, we have a processional offering to collect from congregational members items for Lutheran World Relief Kits (Health, Layettes, or School). In the afternoon, members are invited to come together to assemble the kits.
• Christmas Gifts: At Christmas, we have many special opportunities for people to give gifts of food, money, toys, and clothing. These are given to local agencies.
• Food Shelf: We do have a food shelf at the church for emergencies. We also collect food and donations for the local foodshelves at CEAP and SACA.
• Equal Exchange Coffee: On the third weekend of the month, Equal Exchange coffee is available for purchase. Buying this coffee ensures that more of the money you spend on coffee reaches the farmers who actually grow it. Purchasing this coffee may make the difference between surviving and not surviving for small-scale coffee farmers.
• Free To Be: Car repairs are made and cars are given to people who cannot otherwise afford them. Members of St. Philip's are asked once a year to provide funding, mechanics to help do repairs, and people to cook and serve a meal while the repairs are being made.
• Global Mission Group: This group works to help the congregation grow in our understanding of God's people throughout the world so that we might share and receive the word, love, and compassion of Jesus. St. Philip's helps to support missionaries in Japan and we are a Companion Congregation to Bille Lutheran in Nigeria.
• Good Samaritan Fund: This fund is designated for those special times when people come to the church for help.
• Heifer Project: Once a year we have a month-long appeal to collect money for the Heifer Project. The money collected is used to buy animals for families throughout the world. The families receive training to use the animals to produce food or income for food, education, or medicine.
• Hot Meals for Shut-ins: This program is designed to bring hot noon meals on weekdays to the homes of people who are not able to prepare their own meals. We need volunteers to deliver and serve the meals.
• Hunger Task Force: This group keeps the congregation informed about hunger issues, studies issues of hunger, and works with the congregation on projects designed to help feed hungry people such as the Heifer Project, the Thanksgiving offering, and Minnesota FoodShare.
• Hunger/Poverty: We will have hunger appeals throughout the year to help those in need, such as food drives and appeals for clothing, furniture, blankets.
• Knitters and Crocheters: This group meets on the 4th Monday of the month to make mittens, scarves, hat, and sweaters for children in need.
• Lynwood Healthcare Center (Golden Living Center): On the 2nd Tuesday of the month, volunteers play Bingo with residents.
• Minnesota FoodShare: Every March we participate in Minnesota FoodShare, a Project of the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches. We collect money and food items to supply food for the local food shelves.
• Offering of Letters: In March, we encourage members to write letters to their United States Members of Congress or to their State Legislators regarding important issues of justice.
• Quilting: Men and women meet at the church on the first and third Wednesday of the month to make quilts, which are given to people in need.
• Sharing and Caring Hands: This involves helping the homeless by preparing a meal on Tuesday evening at St. Philip's and then serving it on the first Wednesday of the month at Sharing and Caring Hands in downtown Minneapolis. Sharing and Caring Hands was established to be a bridge from the caring concerned community to the people in need of their help. They receive no government or United Way funding and rely solely on donations to do their work. Every year, the donations of goods, services, time, and money by thousands of people allow Sharing and Caring Hands to make a difference in the lives of individuals, families, and children in need.
• Social Justice Issues: We will form task forces when issues arise within our community that need to be addressed.
• Wellness Committee: This committee is dedicated to promoting holistic wellness in which the needs of body, mind, and spirit are integrated. It organizes blood drives, blood pressure screenings, educational events, the information cart, and healing services.