Whoever you are and wherever you find yourself on your journey of faith, you are welcome here.

What is the Outreach Committee all about?

Our St. James Outreach Committee is a vibrant group interested in educating ourselves about community needs and finding ways to help those in distress. We meet the first Tuesday of each month at 4:00 p.m. in the library. Usually we have a leader from a community service project speak to us. These speakers educate us about community needs. With this knowledge, we can plan meaningful projects for our Wichita community.  Recent speakers have been from KCSL, Breakthrough ESS, St. Francis Ministries, and United Way. Four or five times a year we tour social service agencies. Recent tours have taken us to the Wichita Children’s Home, the Urban League, the Wichita Crisis Center, and KCSL.

Who can join Outreach?

Parishioners are invited to join us at any meeting or to help with any project. We enjoy working together, and we truly welcome newcomers and visitors. Our members include Joan Bledsoe, Deb Brinegar, Louise Brinegar, Gene Carr, Dottie Evans Clark, Mary Druding, Vicki Evans, Judy Goodpasture, Hew Goodpasture, Susan Graybill, Linda Guyot, Claudette Johns, Suzanne Laycock, Shirley Orr, Scott Orr, Marilyn Milhon, Sarah Robinson, Marilyn Taylor, and Vicky Roper.

Besides speakers and tours, what else does Outreach do?

Throughout the year, we hold Charity Product Drives: school supplies for public schools through The Pando Initiative, diapers for the Wichita Children’s Home, Christmas food baskets and gifts for families in need, and hygiene products for the Hygiene Pantry. Each project is chaired by a committee member:

            Diapers and Undies, chaired by Louise Brinegar

            Christmas Project, chaired by Shirley and Scott Orr

            Hygiene Products, chaired by Deb Brinegar

            School Supplies, chaired by Claudette Johns and Marilyn Taylor

            Blankets, chaired by Judy Goodpasture

The Pocket Change Project

We also have a very successful charitable project called Pocket Change, which is chaired by Vicki Evans. Small printed envelopes are available in all the church pews, and parishioners contribute coins and dollars generously. We rotate our $500.00 gift checks to four Wichita charities: Breakthrough ESS, KCSL, Wichita Children’s Home, and The Pando Initiative. After giving these four gifts, we occasionally select other community charities like St. Francis Ministries or the Wichita Crisis Center for gifts. Since this project was founded in 2015 by Gary Thudium, we have given $35,300.00 to our community. We are grateful for our caring, generous congregation.

Does Outreach work with Justice Together?

We have worked closely with Justice Together to assist with their community projects for Mental health, Affordable Housing, and Gun Violence Prevention. Committee members helping Justice Together include Vicki Evans, Shirley Orr, Scott Orr, Claudette Johns, Louise Brinegar, Gene Carr, Hew Goodpasture, Judy Goodpasture. Other parishioners have also assisted Justice Together.

Does this group ever raise funds for special projects?

To raise funds for community projects, we occasionally hold a fund raising dinner. For example, on August 15, 2026, we will hold a free-offering Bingo Dinner to benefit Archdeacon Jeff Roper’s Spiritual Life Center at the Winfield Community Center.