Support St. James' Church and St. Brigid's Pantry
Tax deductible
We are seeking financial support to help us keep the doors of St.
James’ Episcopal Church and St. Brigid’s Pantry & Kitchen open.
St. James’ Episcopal Church, a beautiful Gothic style church, situated one mile from the
Atlantic Ocean in the heart of Long Branch, New Jersey is a community of faith, hope
and love. St. James’, once referred to as the church of the presidents, has been serving
the community since 1854. St. James’ once a thriving, growing spiritual destination, has
seen a change in demographics and a downturn in economic growth over the decades.
The congregation, which once filled the pews, boasted a large choir and sustained a
large Sunday school program, has also suffered a downturn. A small shell of
parishioners, no choir and no Sunday school keep the church going. St. James’ has
always sponsored a feeding ministry, St. Brigid’s Pantry & Kitchen, located in the parish
hall. It started small many years ago and has grown to currently feeding 3000 adults
and children each month and serves 1200 hot lunches every month. While the
congregation has diminished, St. Brigid’s clientele has increased as have the expenses
of maintaining both the church and pantry. The church has always supported St. Brigid’s
financially, but currently finds this impossible to continue. The insurance alone is
$10,000/ qtr. and the utilities $36,000 per year. Because of these extraordinary expenses,
the church finds itself on the brink of closing, which mean St. Brigid’s Pantry & Kitchen
would close as well. please consider supporting us and thank you in advance for your generosity.
Organizer
St James Church St Brigids Pantry
Organizer
Long Branch, NJ
St. James' Episcopal Church
Beneficiary