Click here to access a list of community resources where you can get help or volunteer to help.
COVID-19 has interrupted and changed our community presence. Some of the items shown below are on hold for the time being. Others, such as pastoral care, the rice & beans ministry, and the care taking performed by the church mice continue regardless of circumstances.
Christian Formation 2021 Christian Formation Customary
Core Values: COMMUNITY: friendships, LOVE: spirituality, justice (social), OPENNESS: acceptance, flexibility, growth, courage, CREATIVE COLLABORATION, LEARNING: curiosity Our intergenerational formation events have included a nature walk, praying with icons, Rosary and prayer beads, contemplative prayer, the labyrinth, and mandalas.
We have previously enjoyed book studies on "My Grandmother's Hands" by Resmaa Menakem, "Prayers of the Cosmos" and "The Universal Christ" by Richard Rohr. Currentll we will look at the history of our church with June Smith's book "Do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about" : a history of St. David's-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church Cullowhee, North Carolina 1883-2017 each Wednesday in August at 4pm via Zoom. Pastoral Care 2021 Pastoral Care Customary
Core Values: COMPASSION (Acceptance necessarily being present in compassion), NURTURING, JOY, GRATITUDE Parish Care Ministry: Members pray for those who are sick or experiencing any difficulty. They try to be aware of any needs and offer help where appropriate - visits with Communion from Reserve Sacrament, rides to appointments, hospital visitation, short-term respite for our caretakers, phone calls to shut-ins, meals for families experiencing illness. Contact Us with any requests, needs, suggestions, or to help.
Virtual Closet: If you need medical-related equipment or have something you can offer, Contact Us. Worship Worship Task Force Summary
Core Values: INCLUSIVE: welcoming, open, inviting, belonging, move toward more participatory Spanish in the service/services in Spanish, A.M.E. relationship, MUSICALITY & SERVICES: flexibility, creativity, harmony, tradition, spirituality, reverence, inspiring, PARTICIPATION: lay-led services, serving ministries, INNOVATIVE <-->TRADITION: challenging, expansive 
Altar Guild: This dedicated group of church members prepares the altar prior to church services, arranges flowers, decorates the church for holidays, and cares for the altar linens. Contact Us for information or to join!
Communion Bread: Several volunteers, rotating monthly, provide special loaves of homemade bread for Communion. Contact Us to be a maker of holy food! Greeters: Parishioners hand out bulletins and make visitors feel comfortable and welcome, arrange for or carry the offering and communion elements to the altar during the service. Contact Us for information or to join! Nursery: There is a nursery near the kitchen in The Gathering Place (our parish hall) stocked with activity supplies for children. Parents are welcome to utilize this room as desired on Sundays or during other gatherings. |
Mission & Outreach 2021 Mission & Outreach Task Force Summary
Core Values: COLLABORATION – teamwork, respect, sincerity, RELATIONSHIP – fun, compassion, welcoming, humility, STEWARDSHIP - respect, justice, persistence, OPENNESS – wonder, creativity, flexibility. 
Serving our local community
SEOL Community Events at The Gathering Place (our newly renamed parish hall) Keeping our commitment to the Stewardship of the Entirety of Our Lives© , we offer events that serve the needs of our local community on topics important to St. David's. Our offerings have included: Beaches vs. Buildings, Can we have both?, Planning for Life, Paris to Pittsburgh, a documentary on what communities can do about climate change, and a series of Abrahamic Family Dinners on Prayer, Holy Days, and a summer picnic (just for fun) in cooperation with two local churches and WCU. The First Sunday Plate Offering is given to one of several local charities on a rotating basis. These include Circles of Hope, Clean Slate Coalition, The Community Table, MainSpring Land Trust, Midwives For Haiti, and Vecinos Farmworker Health Program, a health care program that works with migrant farm workers in the Western North Carolina region. Soup & Bread Community Supper: On the last Sunday of each month, August through April, we gather in The Gathering Place (the parish hall) to share a simple meal of soup and bread prepared by members. We make a particular effort to invite our neighbors, acquaintances, newcomers, and students to this regular event, to create a community of welcome. Participants are encouraged to make a donation for the same rotating group of local non-profits listed above in Outreach/Charities. Other local outreach: HomeBase College Ministry at WCU, Rice & Beans which are packaged monthly and given to needy families. The Community Table, and the United Christian Ministries, and Box Tops for Education. 
Serving our global community
Project Panama: Volunteers travel to Boquete, Panama each spring along with Franklin and Sylva Rotary Club members to help in the restoration and repair of the El Banco de Palmira school located in the remote area of the Chiriqui Province of Panama taking with them donated school supplies for the school students. Serving God's creation
We practice intentional recycling and reduced trash output, using plates, stanless utentils, and glassware - some made by our own potters! Serving our parish and diocesan community
Church Mice: Various people, mostly unnoticed, see to it that chairs and tables are set up, dishes and tablecloths washed, pews tidied after services, coffee grounds composted, etc. etc. etc. Everyone is invited to be a church mouse! Contact US to serve! The Rev. Deacon Alice J. Mason Scholarship Fund at Lake Logan: Alice loved Lake Logan, referring to it as a "thin" place where one could feel renewed and refreshed after spending time with God in prayer and mediation. A scholarship was established in her name. For more information or to apply, Contact Us. |
