Where faith becomes action.
At St. Thomas’ we believe in “walking the talk.” That’s why we show up, in a spirit of humility and partnership, for those in need to help make a difference—from local efforts like The Barn, the Community of St. James, and the Fernley Fund to global efforts like Pac-a-Thon, Our Little Roses in Honduras, and the Honduras Water Mission. As part of our Baptismal Covenant, we stand up for the dignity of all human beings.
Local Outreach
Second Saturday Sales
at The Barn
Think of the best rummage sale that you have ever been to. Now multiply that like Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes. From May through November, more than 120 volunteers (half of whom aren’t members of St. Thomas’!) and thousands of shoppers gather at our historic Pennsylvania barn for top-notch thrifting, music, food, and fun. You won’t find better clothing, furniture, books, bric-a-brac, art, jewelry, toys, hardware, sporting equipment and many, many other items. All proceeds go to support local and global outreach organizations. Second Saturday Sales take place at The Barn from May through November, 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Check our calendar for dates and times.
If you are interested in donating items to the barn, joining the volunteer team, or visiting for the first time, please visit the Barn website.
Recent Outreach grant awards, sourced from Barn Sale income, were distributed as follows: Mattie Dixon Food Cupboard, Face to Face, Stand with Iraqi Christians, Resilient Students Network, Church of the Advocate, After School Program of Episcopal Community Services, Honduras Water Mission, Our Little Roses School in Honduras, Family Promise Montco, Community of St. James, Laurel House, Mitzvah Circle, Giving Hope One Village at a Time, and Tree House Books.
Family Promise
For many years, St. Thomas’ has partnered with Family Promise to provide financial support for Hope Gardens, a transitional housing program. Family Promise also has a program that serves local families with children through a network of emergency housing locations provided by churches and synagogues. This support gives the adults the time needed to work on employment, permanent housing, day care, and other living essentials.
The Community of Saint James
St. James Vision: A world without inequities.
The Community of St. James, founded in 2011, is an educational community deeply rooted in the transformational power of loving relationships. St. James comprises a tuition-free Episcopal day school, Graduate Support that maintains personalized, active connections with alumni, the Church of St. James the Less, and The Welcome Table which is a place-based, community-driven program where neighbors access and share the resources they need to thrive.
St. James relies on the generosity of individuals, churches, and organizations to break down barriers and open up pathways. Support comes in many forms - volunteering, grants, the Pennsylvania Scholarship Tax Credit Program (where you simply redirect your PA tax liability and turn it into scholarships), and more - all helping to ensure that every student receives a quality education and the resources needed to thrive.
Learn more about how to make an impact on the website, Facebook, and Instagram.
The Fernley Fund
This fund assists in the initiation of new outreach programs solely for the assistance of economically disadvantaged individuals and organizations. Some of our most sustainable programs (e.g., St. Thomas’ Summer Camp) and those of our partner, Episcopal Community Services, have been jump-started by Bob Fernley’s far-sighted generosity in establishing the fund.
Applications for grants are submitted in proposal form to The Fernley Fund. The contact person is Alice "Mikie" Fernley, Trustee Chair. Grant applications are due by September 1, (for grants awarded the following January).
The Fernley Fund Grant Recipients
-
The “Philly Goat Project” (PGP)—to support their new Bereavement Initiative, which supports a “Grief Garden” and “Memorial Wall,” a peaceful and sacred space for visitors, where they can visit 365 days a year. The trained and gentle goats can provide somatic experiences (as well as fun and lighter moments) to move through grief. The skilled workers use lessons from previous programs, such as violence intervention programs.
The Anglican Church of Burundi—to assist 150 families with seeds and small livestock to be reared that will act as a source of regular income for their land that is losing fertility. The gift eventually improves the inhabitants’ daily lives through nutrition.
-
Chestnut Hill Meals on Wheels—to support their effort to provide low-cost meals for eligible recipients in two additional zip codes.
Stand With Iraqi Christians—to provide financial assistance to three new business ventures initiated by Iraqi Christians.
-
The Community Network—provided seed money for The Housing Scholarship Fund. It is designed to cover the difference between what eligible students from Gwynedd Mercy University and Montgomery County Community College can afford to pay for their housing on or off campus.
-
Episcopal Legal Aid—to expand pro bono civil legal aid to economically disadvantaged individuals at community and on-site food distribution centers; to create specialized programs in legal areas including immigration, senior law, and housing issues.
Tree House Books—to fund the creation of Covid-19 Equity Pods for K-5th grade students in North Philadelphia.
-
Historic Fair Hill Literacy Partner Program—to reopen the library in the Hartranft School in North Philadelphia, an expansion of its current School Literacy Partnership Program at the Julia de Burgos School. Due to the constraints of the pandemic, the money was used to provide funding for seven Literacy Assistants to assist the teachers and parents as the students attended school virtually. Funding also provided for purchase and delivery of books to individual students and learning pods district-wide.
-
Mitzvah Circle Foundation—supporting purchases of essential period supplies distributed to one of the most vulnerable populations: transition-aged children and young adults (from ages 15-25) who struggle not only with poverty but have endured mental health issues, foster care, juvenile or substance abuse.
Global Outreach
Our Little Roses
Since 2006, St. Thomas’ parishioners of all ages have made annual mission trips to Our Little Roses (OLR) Home for Girls in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. OLR is a refuge for destitute girls living in Honduras in the midst of abject poverty, abuse, disease, hunger, and illiteracy. Our volunteers have raised funds and developed mentoring and personal relationships with the girls as they have matured emotionally and grown intellectually with the safety and security provided by OLR.
Honduras Water Mission
For the past 19 years, a team of St. Thomas’ volunteers and others have worked with an organization called Agua Para el Pueblo, an NGO based out of Tegucigalpa.
We raise the funds to pay for the project, then follow the money to work alongside the villagers on implementing it. The main part of the mission is to build potable water systems in remote mountain villages which have never had clean water to drink. We also bring in medical supplies to take to clinics in need and buy school supplies to bring to the local schools in the villages we are working in.
Pac-a-Thon
Each year St. Thomas’ membership comes together in our Parish House for two hours to pack over 10,000 meals for people around the world. We work with partner organization Rise for Hunger. Volunteers form a giant assembly line to create food packets. It is a fun and meaningful experience. All ages are encouraged to participate. Many members bring along friends and those who may be interested in joining St. Thomas’. All are welcome to join in this worthy project. For further information, email Kathleen Schneer.
Human Dignity Ministry
Every human being has rights.
This Ministry responds to our Faith in Action Strategic Plan, which calls on us to “Engage in positively impactful social justice initiatives.” The Ministry’s foundational inspiration is our Baptismal Covenant “to strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.” Our purpose is to implement initiatives that will positively impact people who experience human dignity injustices. We do not intend to promote partisan politics.
In today’s world, our issues of concern are: access to affordable housing, age discrimination, criminal injustices, constitutional rights and obligations, disabilities (physical and intellectual), election integrity, environmental stewardship (Genesis Covenant), food access, gun violence, health equity, immigration, income inequality, racial justice, and sexual orientation. We expect to assess and respond to the nature and need of human dignity issues as societal changes occur over time.
This Ministry was initiated in Spring 2026 through listening sessions with parishioners to discern priority issues for implementation. Over the coming years, we plan to:
Conduct educational forums that address how our Baptismal Covenant calls on us, as a faith community and individually, to act with respect to the issues of concern;
Initiate a “book club” to discuss writings that address social justice issues;
Support our Outreach Commission grantees in their advocacy efforts;
Partner with interfaith and other organizations in their advocacy efforts; and
Implement a communications strategy that will include a repository of resources for parishioners interested in taking action to address injustices.
The Human Dignity Ministry steering committee includes: Wendy Bailey, Mimi Kepner, John Kepner, Barbara Kozemchak, Jim Weiss, Joanne Gast, and Cory Potomis. Please contact John Kepner for more information.
Animal Ministry
All Creatures Great & Small
Our Animal Ministry is not just about dogs and cats, it is for the people in our pews—and those beyond our church. Our mission is to ensure the church is a hub of compassion for all of God’s creatures.
We strive to help churchgoers with unexpected needs for animal care: a hospital stay, deployment in the military, rehab, etc. Through partnerships with animal shelters and rescues, we hope to create a network of faithful people ready and willing to help through foster training.
We have a chaplain who is committed to helping people who work in shelters and those dealing with the loss of a furry companion.
Our Animal Ministry is committed to serving all of God’s creation with a special focus on our canine companions. The ministry is evolving every day as more people bring us great ideas and opportunities. In March 2026, we launched the Animal Cabin, a day respite space for shelter animals and a volunteer. For more information, please reach out to Anne Anspach or Canon Jen Tucker.
Volunteer
-
Taking a shelter dog out for the day is easier than you think. We have a list of organizations who have a “day trip” program. They provide options for what you can do with the dog. And, if taking the dog to your house is not an option – come to the Animal Cabin! If you need advice or assistance with transporting the animal from the shelter (including a crate for your car) to our Cabin, contact us.
-
Fostering a dog (or cat!) can require just a few days of your time. It is all based on your availability. Supplies, food and medical services are provided by the organization. We can provide “foster-buddies” to guide you and be a support if needed. And, of course, the Animal Cabin is open if you want to bring your foster dog for the day.
-
Giving dogs the opportunity to sniff can be just as enriching as physical exercise! We want to plant a Sniff Garden in four of our Community Garden plots. We need people that want to plan it and plant it. Our canine visitors will appreciate plants that are aromatic and safe to sniff.
-
We host rescues and shelters (in our main building) that need a venue for their Meet and Greet dog and cat adoption events. We can always use helpers to set up, welcome visitors and clean up. These events are really fun and lively!
-
After each animal visit in the Animal Cabin, we need to clean and disinfect our animal cabin. There will be toys and towels and a couch cover that will need to be washed regularly. We can use helpers to clean and handle laundry between visits.
-
Our dog visitors will appreciate some new things. Check out our Amazon Wishlist.
All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Creatures Great and Small: A Transformational Hymn
From the time I was young, this hymn reinforced my understanding that God’s love extends to every part of creation—to all living beings. Loving animals, all animals, has been a huge part of my life as an activist, advocate and, now, animal chaplain.
Many people know what a chaplain does: they listen, they hold space, and they walk alongside others through seasons of pain, grief, and hope. We see chaplains in hospitals, schools, on battlefields, and in disaster zones, all of which are places where people are suffering and in need of care. Yet, there is another place where this sacred presence is profoundly needed.
People that take care of animals deal with high levels of compassion fatigue and burnout. Veterinary professionals, shelter workers, and animal caregivers often face enormous emotional strain that often leads to depression, anxiety, and, tragically, a suicide rate above the national average. Many witness daily heartbreak, such as the euthanasia of healthy animals in overcrowded shelters. Their clients are voiceless and vulnerable.
In June 2025, I was ordained as a certified animal and veterinary chaplain. My calling is to support both people and animals: to comfort those grieving the loss of a beloved companion, to walk with professionals carrying invisible burdens, to offer blessings for new life, and to honor the sacred bonds between humans and the creatures entrusted to their care.
I am honored to volunteer my time in service to the St. Thomas’ community and to co-lead the church’s Animal Ministry with Anne Anspach. If you, your family, or your pets could benefit from support, prayer, or blessing, please feel free to email.
—Canon Jennifer Tucker,
Certified Animal Chaplain
Stay connected.
Get updates on outreach opportunities and ministry events sent straight to your inbox every Friday.
Quick links
Adults
Children, Youth & Families
Environmental Stewardship