In The Community

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

--Mark 12:31

We believe an important way to Make the Love of God More Widely Known is having an active, volunteer-rich and supportive community presence that targets critical personal needs beyond our doors for people of all denominations. Our Mission Committee and its many volunteers focus on the needs of island residents and, when appropriate, needs beyond our island's shores.

From a modest beginning in 2020, our St. Paul's Suppers program now provides a weekly dinner to as many as 100 people throughout the year. In addition, we are delighted to support a number of island organizations including the Fairwinds counseling center, A Safe Place and the Nantucket Community School. Our Laundry Love program at Holdgate's Island Laundry supports many families. Over 40 St. Paul’s volunteers commit their time and talent to these ministries. Please join us. A list of our current activities is below:

St. Paul's Suppers - using our own and donated funds, we are providing up to 100 dinners a week to a selected group that includes the needy and shut-ins.
We support Fairwinds and its staff.
Our Laundry Love Program (part of a national effort) provides the free access to Holdgate's Laundry once a month.
We make healthy snacks available to middle-school students.
The parish has long supported the island's Food Pantry.
Our Rector, Father Max, is currently the president of the Nantucket Interfaith Council, which manages the island's Food Pantry and its rent and fuel assistance program.
We have had an active partnership with an Episcopal Church in Cuba and, among other things, we have helped fund a water purification system in its community.

St. Paul's Suppers

As the pandemic arose in 2020, we sought ways to put our resources and volunteers to work to support our community. One way was St. Paul's Suppers. They helped two constituencies: a local caterer whose business had been hurt hard and needy island residents who had grown in number and in hunger. The program is now an ongoing part of our community activity.

We have been providing and delivering nutritious dinners to around 100 individuals each week. Our church's commitment has been generously supported by the Community Foundation for Nantucket, other island nonprofits and private donors.

We need four volunteers on Wednesdays who will help organize and distribute meals to the needy. Please contact Bob Felch or the Church Office if you'd like to help.

Laundry Love

The St. Paul's Laundry Love program has followed a national model to provided free laundry services to families in need. Once a month, our team gathers at Holgate’s Laundry where we provide laundry services to about 30 families each month. In providing relief from the ever increasing cost of having clean clothes, this community support is an important part of what we are and how we hope to help those in need. This program generally includes not only our assistance, but community involvement and even singing hymns. The program is funded by the Community Foundation for Nantucket and the generosity of our parish.

If you think you would enjoy this special ministry, please contact the church office by calling 508-228-0916 or by emailing us at .

Other Community Support

Beyond our two main programs we support other institutions and activities that support the life of our island home:

We actively support the Fairwinds counseling center. In cooperation with its board and executive director, we provide meal cards to a staff that has seen demand for its services soar in recent years.

We learned that middle school students at the Nantucket Public Schools would benefit from a nutritious mid-morning snack. In co-operation with the public school system, we provide these snacks for distribution to all students, regardless of income. Distribution is by the school staff.

For many years, our congregation has made donations to the island's Food Pantry. It provides free food to the island's needy, and by its calculation, almost 25% of our island families make use of the pantry during the course of a year. Recently, volunteers from St. Paul's have been working in the pantry, and Father Max has recently become the president of the Nantucket Interfaith Council that manages the pantry and the island's Food, Fuel and Rental and Assistance program.

For almost five years, we have been involved with the Episcopal Church in Cuba. The pandemic made it difficult to continue our work there because of restrictions on travel and other conditions. We hope to resume it in the future. This activity has had both diocesan and private funding. Among other things, we supplied a well-water purification system that, for the first time, made it possible for a town there to enjoy safe water.