The Ministry of Service and Outreach
Christ Church serves our community through a variety of programs, including:
CHRIST GARDEN OF PEACE
is our parish garden, lush with fresh vegetables, herbs, and fruit that many of us enjoy at home, lovingly tended for those who haven't the means to bring such bounty to their own table. The Christ Garden of Peace is carefully nurtured by this faith community in answer to Christ's call to witness and to serve.
EASTER, THANKSGIVING, AND CHRISTMAS FAMILIES We sponsor six families (referred by Fairfax County) each holiday and provide them with the ingredients for a complete holiday meal. At Christmas, our members also provide and wrap gifts for each member of the families.
FACETS - Fairfax Area Christian Emergency & Transitional Services provides evening meals to the homeless and to those temporarily housed in motels along the Route 50 corridor.More than 25 churches in the area prepare, deliver, and serve food to 100+ children and adults every day of the year. On the second Wednesday of each month, Christ Church is responsible for preparing meals in our commercial kitchen, and then distributes them.
FISH - Fairfax Immediate and Sympathetic Help Christ Church members answer help-line phones, and provide food, transportation, medicines, and other forms of assistance.
FOOD PANTRY Stocked by members, Christ Church has an on-site food pantry to supply Our Daily Bread distribution needs and for the FACETS-sponsored food programs.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY Volunteers from Christ Church participate in this program to build affordable housing for low income families. Currently we are teamed with eleven other area Lutheran Churches to build a townhouse neighborhood in Fairfax City.
HOMELESS SHELTER FOODOn a monthly basis, Christ Church prepares and delivers casseroles and desserts to women's and men's shelters in northern Virginia and in the District of Columbia.
HYPOTHERMIA PROJECT - A FACETS ministry - From December 1 through March 31 FACETS offers shelter for the Fairfax area homeless in churches throughout the county. Christ Church, a Hypothermia Project site since 2006, welcomed guests for a week, serving a full dinner and entertainment via television and/or movies. Guests receive a hot breakfast in the morning, and take with them a snack, bottled water, and a nutritious sack lunch.
THE LAMB CENTER is an ecumenically sponsored daytime shelter in Fairfax City, providing a number of services to the homeless and needy in our community. The Center offers leads for employment information, laundry facilities, showers and lockers, and light meals. Christ Church regularly provides food and other supplies, and the pastor is a volunteer chaplain for the Lamb Center’s brief mid-week chapel service and other ministerial needs.
NOVACO, the NOrthern VirginiA COalition, is a group of congregations and individual volunteers who work together to provide housing, living expenses, education, counseling, and mentoring to homeless victims of domestic violence and abuse and their children. Christ Church supports NOVACO by providing a house as well as assistance for food, clothing, transportation, and other needs.
NORTHERN VIRGINIA TRAINING CENTER Each December Christ Church sponsors and hosts a Christmas party at the Center with gifts for the residents of this facility which serves the severely mentally handicapped.
OUR DAILY BREAD is a non-denominational program providing food assistance to the needy in the local area. Approximately four times a year we collect, sort and deliver food to 30-60 families who have been referred and qualified by Fairfax County. Christ Church members contribute food items, sort and package donations on a Saturday morning, and deliver bags after services the next day.
REBUILDING TOGETHER (formerly CHRISTMAS IN APRIL) is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping low-income families stay in their homes. In late April, Christ Church volunteer teams provide needed repairs to their homes that the residents could make on their own.
SALVATION ARMY Each Advent members of Christ Church fill one hundred or more stockings provided by the Salvation Army. Stocking contents include small clothing items, personal care products, and games and toys for children of all ages.
STUDY BUDDIES is Christ Church's afternoon program of after-school care for children of homeless and shelter clients. During the academic year, the children are transported here and back, and they are provided with nutritious snacks, and tutoring and mentoring by adults and high school students. We also host holiday celebrations for the children and their families.