Habitat for Humanity Mission Trip

Our mission group returned from New Orleans in time to celebrate Easter with our families and in our own churches - after a week of very hard work, generous hospitality and delightful fellowship. Leaders, Carol and Meg Dutton, of Emmanuel Church in Newport did a superb job of coordinating our schedules for the week.

This house we are siding in the photo will soon be ready for the family of four waiting to move in. Thanks to Habitat for Humanity, Americorps, Episcopal Relief & Development and many other organizations helping to rebuild New Orleans the work goes on, but progress is slow. Now, five years after Katrina, there are still tens of thousands of homes that are in need of rebuilding.

What a great group we had - 15 of us, from teens to 70 - from all over Aquidneck Island. We worked hard each day, in fellowship with other folks from all over the country. A week we'll never forget.

Cereal Night

Yes, we are participating in Cereal Night again this year beginning this week. Bring your favorite cereal, we’ll provide the rest. Our Cereal Nights will be held in the Parish Hall beginning at 6:30pm on the upcoming Wednesdays of March 16, 23, 30, and April 6, 13. Each Wednesday night there will be a short service, "Thoughts on 'Occasional Offices'", with The Rev Gordon Stenning and then we will dine together. Donations from savings on meal costs will go to Aquidneck Island charities.

Mission Trip to New Orleans

Almost six years have gone by since Hurricane Katrina struck. During that time Emmanuel Church of Newport has sponsored four mission trips to the Gulf Coast to help with the rebuilding efforts. Those trips and an upcoming trip, scheduled for April 16-23, would not be possible without the generosity of many caring people. A recent letter to the editor in the Newport Daily News from Meghan Dutton of Emmanuel Church provides details of the situation in New Orleans today and of the recent greathearted response within the Aquidneck Island community.

We rarely hear about New Orleans in the news any more, yet there are still 43,000 abandoned homes left after Hurricane Katrina and an estimated 11,000 homeless - the nation's highest number per capita, according to UNITY (a non-profit organization, who provides housing and services for the homeless in New Orleans). There have been many rebuilding successes over the past years in New Orleans, yet there is still much work that needs to be done and many people who are in great need.

Richard Sardella and Patrick Fitzgerald, owners of Sardella’s Restaurant, were so gracious as to allow our group of volunteers to have a spaghetti dinner and silent auction to help us fundraise for our April mission trip to New Orleans. We raised approximately $5,000 which will help with the expenses associated with our trip. This will be Emmanuel Church’s fifth trip to the Gulf Coast. We will work for Habitat for Humanity and Episcopal Community Services - both organizations are helping to re-build the city and help those who have been forgotten. Thanks to Richard Sardella, Patrick Fitzgerald, the Rogers High School Jazz Band members: William Chilton, Chase Ceglie, and Devon Mello, local businesses who donated items for the silent auction, and to everyone who participated in our fundraising efforts.

Thanks to your generosity we are able to go back and continue with the re-building efforts, and to diminish the hunger, and emptiness, that so many people were left with in New Orleans, after Katrina. I am not sure if words can truly express our gratitude for living in such a community as the one we have here in Newport - having so many people come together to help those who have lost so much.

Our Senior Warden at St Paul's will be participating in the April mission trip with the Emmanuel Church team and there is still an opportunity for you to help as well. Donations are still being accepted and can be mailed to Emmanuel Church, 42 Dearborn St., Newport, RI 02840. Checks may be payable to Emmanuel Church and earmarked for the New Orleans mission trip.

Ash Wednesday Service

We will be having an Ash Wednesday Service at 6:00 PM on March 9th. The Reverend Gordon Stenning will be presiding.

Shrove Tuesday

We'll be having a Pancake Supper from 6:30pm to 8:00pm in the Parish Hall on Tuesday March 8th. Come join us. Just bring yourself and a friend.

Recent, Ongoing and Upcoming

We are a family-sized Episcopal church that values our ability to reach out and serve our neighbors, in the spirit of Jesus' example: loving, healing and teaching ... and we are continually engaged in these efforts. We provided Christmas for a Portsmouth family again this winter. We are participating in Cereal Night again this year. Just two weekends ago we had a "Bead for Life" demonstration and raised over $800 for women and their families in Uganda. And ... plans to participate in a Habitat for Humanity mission trip are underway.

We value diversity. Whatever it is that you feel called to do to support God's work - chances are good you will find the opportunity with us.

It would be a blessing to have you visit us, and we invite you to make St. Paul's your church.