Mission & Outreach
Mission Outreach
Flood relief | You can give
The floods: The Church as Beacon of Hope
When disaster strikes, Lutherans are quick to bring healing and hope. After the Floods is a captivating five-minute video about how members of the ELCA serve as beacons of hope to communities recovering from the 2008 floods and tornadoes in the Midwest. Watch the video>>
Many St. Paul people learned to rehab houses in flood-stricken Mississippi. Now our energies are being redirected for the same sort of work in our native state. At this stage, volunteers are mucking homes and hauling debris. To find out how to get involved in work trips to Cedar Rapids this fall:
Linda Hoepner,
In the community, around the world
At St. Paul, our mission reflects the core values we hold dear.
- We ground our lives in grace-filled worship.
- We welcome all people into this active faith community.
- We strengthen our relationship with God through learning.
- All this equips us to serve God, reaching out in mission for the sake of our community and the world.
Neighbors
St. Paul is in the city for good.
Our 2025 Main St. housing ministry is a supportive home for several women with long-term mental illness.
Friendship with Madison Elementary School in our neighborhood means volunteering with kids in classrooms. and teaming up to beautify the school landscape at the corner of Brady and Locust Streets.
Community
Community involvement takes many forms, including Blood Donor Days; working for the sake of decent, affordable housing through Habitat for Humanity; and quilting to make a warm difference in the lives of neighbors near and far.
St. Paul pools financial resources with a number of Brady Street churches, providing emergency assistance for people in central Davenport.
Feeding the hungry is a high priority here. Food pantry ingatherings help stock the shelves of Davenport’s Friendly House. St. Paul groups serve meals at the Churches United Meal Site at the Salvation Army. Generous giving goes to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal. Generous giving helped support Davenport’s Cafe on Vine in early 2008.
Gulf Coast Mission
The deep need in the Gulf Coast, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, has inspired two St. Paul mission trips to Ocean Springs, Mississippi. It’s a chance to stretch into the joy of helping others.
Tanzania connection
St. Paul members Lori and Todd Byerly serve as ELCA missionaries in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania in East Africa. Prayers, funding, love — and even goats — connect Iowa with Tanzania in friendship.
Commitment to Fair Trade
The St. Paul Book Corner stocks unique handcrafted treasures by skilled artisans in Africa, Asia, and Latin America through fair trade organizations. The shelves are well-stocked with fairly-traded gifts, coffee, and chocolate — that translate into fair income for farmers and artisans in developing countries.
Justice
Our faith calls us to be witnesses for peace, justice, forgiveness, and love in the world. This takes the form of peacemaking, advocacy, efforts to preserve the planet, and generosity for ministries far beyond Brady Street.
"A person with hope is alive to God... Hope keeps us on tiptoe, looking for the unexpected." ~Eugene Peterson, theologian