outreach - local
Boy Scouts / Cub Scouts
The Church supports Cub and Boy Scout troops that call St. Luke's home. For more information on Boy Scout Troop 764 visit http://troop764.org
C.H.R.I.S. Homes
Children Have Rights in Society (C.H.R.I.S.) Homes is a collection of homes for kids who have been removed from their own homes, often due to abuse, and are placed elsewhere for their protection. The home we sponsor is part of the C.H.R.I.S. Independent Living Program, for young adults, 17-21 years old, who have "aged out" of foster care and need help making a successful transition to self-sufficient adulthood. For further information, visit http://chrishomes.org.
Columbia Theological Seminary
St. Luke's has pledged funds to Columbia Theological Seminary for redevelopment. According to its mission statement, Columbia is "an educational institution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and a community of theological inquiry and formation for ministry in the service of the Church of Jesus Christ." Founded in Columbia, SC, in 1830, the seminary's present facilities in Decatur, GA, were developed between 1925 and 1930. For further information, visit http://www.ctsnet.edu.
Community Action Center (CAC)
St. Luke's supports the CAC, which was formed to unite community efforts in response to requests for emergency assistance. The CAC is funded by 17 local churches and synagogues and assists people in the Sandy Springs/Dunwoody area who have experienced sudden changes in economic circumstances. The CAC provides food, clothing, health screening, referrals, and financial assistance for rent and utilities. For more information visit http://ourcac.org
Habitat for Humanity
St. Luke's has financed and built many houses with Habitat for Humanity for working-poor families in the Atlanta area. For the past several years, St. Luke's has partnered with Dodd-Sterling United Methodist Church in constructing homes in close proximity to them. For further information, visit http://habitat.org
Interfaith Outreach Home (I.O.H.)
The I.O.H., located on Buford Highway, is a transitional home for 8-10 families that provides shelter, daycare, employment counseling, food, medical and dental services, budgeting assistance, tutoring, adult education, and help with permanent housing. The I.O.H. helps families caught in the cycle of poverty and eviction while assisting them to regain self-sufficiency. We periodically buy perishable groceries for new families that move in. For further information, visit http://www.interfaithoutreachhome.org Druid Hills Night Shelter
The Night Shelter at Druid Hills Presbyterian Church provides transitional housing for 30 men who are employed or actively seeking work. St. Luke's supports this ministry by providing hot meals to the men one Sunday night per month.
Perimeter Adult Learning and Services, Inc. (P.A.L.S.)
P.A.L.S. provides life-enrichment and other support services by and for seniors in the Sandy Springs/Dunwoody area. Senior volunteers provide the leadership and most services. P.A.L.S. is affiliated with 10 local churches, a civic organization, and a retirement home.
Perimeter Counseling Center
St. Luke's established an on-site community-counseling center in the summer of 1995. A counselor employed by the Georgia Association of Pastoral Counseling (G.A.P.C.) offers her services at St. Luke's on a sliding-scale fee basis. We provide some financial aid to help with fees and one of our committee members attends their coordinating committee meetings.
Presbyterian Answer to Hunger (P.A.T.H.)
The quarterly P.A.T.H. offerings support shelters and food pantries in the Atlanta area, as well as hunger development and education programs in Ghana, West Africa, and Nicaragua, Central America and Israel/Palestine. Visit http://answertohunger.wordpress.comfor more information.
Presbyterian Homes of Georgia
We support two Presbyterian retirement homes in Georgia. The Presbyterian Home is in Quitman and the Presbyterian Village is in Austell. These excellent facilities offer several levels of care; many of the residents have exhausted their life savings. A special offering is collected at Mother's Day to support these homes. http://www.phgainc.org
Red Cross Blood Drives
St. Luke's hosts quarterly blood drives in the Great Hall for the Dunwoody community.
Red Fern Farms
Red Fern Farms is a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing abandoned animals and partnering them with children who have been abused or traumatized. The animal-assisted therapy program was created by St. Luke's member, Christine Stribling.
Six Star Refugee Partnership
In 1999 five Presbyterian Churches; Church of the New Covenant, Druid Hills, Hapeville, Rock Spring and St. Andrews met to find ways to help refugee families coming to Atlanta. These five churches were joined by Druid Hills Baptist Church who offered a house on their property and Six Star Refugee Partnership, Inc. was formed. In 2006 Druid Hills United Methodist, Morningside Presbyterian and St. John's Lutheran joined the partnership. In 2007 St. Luke's Presbyterian became a member church in the Partnership.
Currently Six Star has one house that is leased from Druid Hills Baptist. This house provides safe, affordable housing and resettlement support for refugee families. The home is fully furnished with donated furniture and household items.
Each family accepted in the program (referred through the IRC - International Rescue Committee) can occupy the house for a period of up to two years. During this time they are assisted in obtaining medical care, enrolling the children in schools, tutoring and English classes as needed, obtaining employment and adjusting to life in their new community.
In addition to the housing, furniture and household goods and clothing they are offered friendship, transportation and other resettlement assistance. Once a family has been a part of Six Star Refugee Partnership, Inc. they are a member of the "Six Star Family" forever. Visit http://www.six-star-refugee.org/
SPECIAL OFFERINGS
Joy Offering
This offering in December goes to the Board of Pensions to aid retired church workers whose pensions are inadequate and those unable to afford nursing home care. It also provides grants to eight ethnic schools and colleges related to the Presbyterian Church.
One Great Hour of Sharing
This offering received on Easter helps the hungry, the poor, the homeless and the oppressed worldwide.
Trinity Alternative Gift Market
Our Outreach Committee purchases Christmas gifts in the form of donations for goods and services for local, national, and international projects. Some gifts purchased include windows and doors for a Habitat for Humanity house, forest seedlings for Guatamala's reforestation project, food and medicine for Rivers of the World in Africa, blankets and pillows for the homeless at Druid Hills Night shelter and cinder blocks for a Constructores para Cristo house in Mexico.
Undesignated General Benevolences
St. Luke's sends $40,000 - $50,000 to the Presbytery, which is distributed locally, nationally, and internationally for missions, evangelism, education, disaster relief, and new church development.
NATIONAL PROGRAMS
Mountain Tennessee Outreach Project (T.O.P.)
Mountain TOP is an Interdenominational Christian mission dedicated to rural life ministry in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee. Teams from St. Luke's combine with others from across the country to form small construction units to perform home repair and construction. During the summer there are programs designed for youth to work on homes or work with the day camp serving the children of Grundy county. For more information visit http://www.mountain-top.org/
