“The worship has ended; the service begins.”
We are always looking for new ways to reach beyond the church to the community and the world. Martha’s Cupboard and Lunchbreak, our Companion Diocese of Ecuador, Support for students in the Philippines, community events such as CROP Walk and Covenant House, Toys for Girls and Boys, and our Annual Coat Drive are only a few of our ministries.
Smaller community groups within our congregation, such as Girls Friendly Society, The Men’s Group, and the ECW , have outreach as a component in their work and mission. In addition, we keep up a lively connection with the greater church through serving the Diocese of New Jersey. We do this not only with the pledge we make to the Diocese each year, but also serving on various committees, participating in events such as the Annual Trinity Cathedral Golf Outing, supporting Diocesan Convention, and the many Youth Events and Mission Outreach Trips our children attend.
Christ Church is happy to swing open our doors in hospitality to outside groups who need a place to hold meetings or an event.
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Covenant House: Supporting Homeless Young Adults
Covenant House is an international organization with a local presence in Asbury Park that helps youth aged 18-21 who have ‘aged out’ of the child welfare system but who are homeless, at risk, and in need of help. One of our popular outreach ministries is to raise funds for Covenant House via a ‘Sleep Out’ on the streets of Asbury that provides our sleepers (such as Mother Lisa) the near experience of what it feels like to sleep outside with only a sleeping bag and a piece of cardboard as bedding.
Every Christmas we provide gifts and gift cards for these young adults, as well as collecting various needed items for the during the year. You will find a tub in the Parish Hall marked “Covenant House” for any donations you may have.
Books for Books
Love to read a good book? Don’t know what to do with those books once they have been read? Books for Books is a program of Christ Church that helps us support various outreach needs in our community. You can drop of your unwanted but gently used books (no textbooks, please!) in our Parish Hall. While you are there, peruse the many books and select one to read. Simply place a contribution in the basket in the Parish Hall. These contributions help us help those who come to us with immediate needs like a uber ride or a voucher for groceries.
CROP Walk: Join us as we walk to stop world hunger
Members of Christ Church have participated in CROP Walk seemingly forever. Each October, we meet with literally thousands of other “walkers” from churches, schools, and organizations who come to Red Bank Regional High School to make the walk through Red Bank, and by our walking, to raise awareness and funds to help stamp out hunger. The funds we raise (and the rice, pasta, canned soups, and peanut butter we bring!) are used to help local agencies and food pantries.
Currently our Youth Group members host a CROP Walk table at church during September; stop by and pick up a sponsor form. Or go online to join the team or to make a donation. Ask your families, friends, co-workers, or church members to sponsor you for your walk (roughly 5 miles). If you are under aged 18, you will need your parent or guardian to sign for you. Be sure to collect the money as soon as possible – you will need to turn it in on the day of the walk. Then come join us at the Walk! You can run, jog, walk, bring a stroller, walk your dog (your dog can also get sponsors). It is a great activity for people of all ages.
If you aren’t going to be in town on the day of the Walk, you can still be a part of it! Simply sign up to sponsor one of our walkers. And be generous – it goes directly to help the poor and misfortunate. Another way we can all help is to bring a jar of peanut butter to church. We will take it with us to the Walk.
Martha’s Cupboard
“Then will the King say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink…” Matthew 25.34
Once a month on a Thursday afternoon, a dedicated team of Christ Church parishioners and friends meet the delivery truck from Fulfill of Ocean and Monmouth Counties at Washington Manor on Ocean Avenue in Long Branch. There we unload and sort the food for distribution in the Community Room of the Manor. The residents, elderly and/or disabled people living in the low-cost housing apartment building (115 units), are always there waiting to greet us and see what we have brought to supplement their cupboards and refrigerators. These senior citizens live on an average of about $725 per month, with a third of their income paying for their housing. The rest is simply not enough to pay for food, medicine, and other daily needs. Because many of the residents are not in good health or have no transportation, they cannot make it to the local food pantries. Christ Church is bringing the pantry to them. Most of the food we will choose from Fulfill (previously known as the FoodBank) is free to us. Additional food products are purchased by the management of Washington Manor, who care very deeply for the dire situation of their residents. Still other items are provided by the generous donations of our own parishioners who in addition to giving money bring non-perishable items each week to place in our “little red wagon” in the Parish Hall or the basket in the narthex of the Church. We are always looking for volunteers. A secure building with a known population and a full-time security guard, this makes for a great opportunity for our teens to work on their community service hours here. For more information, contact the Church office at 732-741-2220 or email us directly at theparish@christchurchshrewsbury.org. Director Dianne Regiec would love to have you join us.
Old Cell Phones
Donated phones are programmed with “911” numbers for use by elderly persons and victims of domestic violence. A box is located in the Parish Hall.
Supporting Students in the Philippines
For several years, Christ Church has supported Filipina college students. Young women are often the last of their families to be able to afford college: that is where we step in. We are currently assisting two young women with their tuition and other living expenses. Every month they send us a letter to be included in our newsletter, The Crown, which allows us to get to know them and pray for them, and they us.
Christmas Toy Drive
Every autumn, we team up with St. Mark’s, Keansburg to collect toys for the children of Keansburg and surrounding communities. We hope we make the holiday season come alive with love and kindness for those little ones. For many families right here in Monmouth County the purchase of toys at Christmas is beyond their means, as they struggle to make ends meet.
Please consider, as you begin to shop for the holidays, purchasing a toy for a youngster. You may drop off toys for the drive at the Parish House. They should be unwrapped, but including wrapping paper or gift bags would also help the cause. Make some children happy again this Christmas! Deadline for delivering the toys is the first Sunday in December, when they will be blessed at the altar.
Back to School Backpacks
Every August our parishioners bring backpacks filled with school supplies for needy children in Monmouth County. The backpacks are blessed at our 9:00 am service on Labor Day Weekend and distributed thereafter. Children generally range from age 7 – 12, but we try to help any family with need. The office can provide you with a list of needed supplies.
Coat and Mitten Drive
In addition to backpacks and toys, we don’t forget the poor and needy when the temperature drops and the flakes fly. Each year in the runup to Thanksgiving we collect used but serviceable winter coats and warm mittens for distribution throughout the winter season. A Mitten Tree can be found in the church beginning in December, but coats, mittens, hats, scarves, and gloves can be dropped off at the Parish House at any time.
Christ Church Community Garden
The year 2021 marked the fourth anniversary of the Church Community Garden in a plot set up by Kim Honecker in the borough of Shrewsbury’s community garden across from the church just down Sycamore Avenue. Multiple parishioners water, weed, and tend to the flowers and vegetables, while the bounty is donated to a local food pantry.