It was a great day for Mutual Ministry with St. Thomas’s and St Nicholas!
The City of Newark’s annual Community Day was this past Sunday. This event brings thousands of folks together: Newark residents, University of Delaware students and faculty, and people from neighboring towns. It is a beautiful and eclectic gathering of young and old that takes place on the University of Delaware Green. Hundreds of local businesses, crafters and nonprofits set up booths, and among them was St. Thomas’s and St. Nicholas, together in mutual ministry, under the banner of The Episcopal Church in Delaware.
Our goals were to let people know about our parishes’ upcoming events, outreach, and worship opportunities. But more importantly, we wanted to be a face of love and peace in our community, living out The Way of Love. Our double booth had a fun coloring activity for children (though several “seasoned” children also joined in the fun), frisbees, stickers, candy, and book give aways, pet treats with an invitation to St Thomas’ blessing of the Animals event, and just a ton of love and laughter.
We met proud Episcopalians from several other parishes in the diocese, and even one group from Oregon, excited to meet some extended faith family. Many visitors inquired about “rainbow friendly” churches, invited in by our flags and pins, and were given a list of churches in our state. A few guests asked about services in Spanish, and others wanted to know what was available online for the homebound. We were also able to network with several other booths, such as Water is Life Kenya and the City of Newark PAL.
Overall, I feel we accomplished our goals of Inviting, Welcoming, and Connecting with our greater community. The mutual ministry of St Thomas and St Nicholas continues to build up both of our parishes. We look forward to more joint book clubs, holiday worship, and events like Newark Community Day.