Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. John 12:26
The Discovery Program Each year since 2012, Saint Mary’s has sponsor the West Columbia Elementary 5th grader students’ participation in the Discovery Program at Camp Allen. The Discovery Program provides “hands on” educational experiences that enhance classroom learning. The experiences are integrated into a complete program that helps participants gain a well-rounded understanding of current issues, environmental respect, history, plant and wildlife, astronomy and human relationships. Along with providing a four day stay at camp for the students and sponsors, the church also provides the transportation, sleeping bags, and water proof note pads. The experience is well received by the students, parents, teachers, and school administration. Click to learn more information about the Discovery Program.
Community Assistance Guided by the intention of the endowment from Kitty Nash Grose, the vestry established the Community Assistance Fund. The fund is designed to help citizens of West Columbia who are in need of financial assistance. Overseeing the fund is the Community Assistance committee consisting of two members, Karen Logue and Tracy Lane. Their job is to assess the need of a recipient and make recommendations to the vestry. The privacy of the recipient is important. Only the committee members, treasurer, and priest know the identity of the recipient. If approved, help is provided to the recipient by directly paying a bill or providing a gift card. Cash is never given. This is a one time gift. Community Assistance also provided aid to West Columbia Elementary by providing backpacks, lice kits, medicine, etc. To recommend someone for Community Assistance contact the church office at 979-345-3456 or email the church.
Military Support 1. We directly support the military personnel who are in our parish family or related to our parish family by including them in our Prayers of the People said every Sunday during the Holy Eucharist. We also send gift cards to them each year around Armed Forces Day which is the third Saturday of May to let them know they are not forgotten and we appreciate their service to us and their country. A basket for monetary donations is set out for this service project.