Our Work
We support many Outreach programs.
A few of them include:
-
Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry
-
Ecumenical Community Center Foundation (ECCF) and Helping Hands Ministry
-
Kenwood Leadership Academy for yearly HACAP food backpacks
-
Swazi Companions
-
​Beloved Community Initiative
-
Episcopal Relief & Development​
​
CEC prides our selves in our dedication to the community, serving its people and their needs through monetary donations, pledges, food donations, and toiletry donations. We also serve our time to help clean, organize, and volunteering with events and work days. At CEC, we love serving the community and giving what we can freely.
Loaves & Fishes Pantry
A joint ministry of Westminster Presbyterian Church and Christ Episcopal Church. Both churches provide financial support for the pantry as well as volunteer work.
Helping Hands Ministry and Ecumenical Community Center Foundation (ECCF)
HHM serves people urgently needing limited material assistance. We help with rent, utilities, auto gas, ID replacement, and financial and life coaching, along with personal and household care items like laundry & dish soap, shampoo, and deodorant. Auto gas is now a much greater transportaion need but we still offer a few local bus tickets. Our staff and volunteers help individuals to prioritize needs and navigate community agencies, funding, and resources. Our staff offers someone to talk to; someone to share concerns with; someone to encourage reaching goals and then to rejoice in those accomplishments.
BackPack Program
The BackPack Program offers elementary school students food for weekends and school breaks. The bags include healthy, easy-to-prepare food for kid friendly meals like macaroni and cheese, pop-top fruit cups, cereal, shelf-stable milk.
Swazi Companions
In 2005, a group of SwaziCompanions was formed at Christ Episcopal Church to be in relationship with the people in our companion diocese, the Anglican Diocese of Swaziland, Eswatini, Southern Africa. Our festive fundraisers at Christ Episcopal support feeding programs for orphans and other children in need, home/hospice care and water projects in rural areas of a country with a high level of AIDS, poverty and drought. We build community, strengthen our faith and enlarge our world as we hold events to raise funds, and visit and interact with our companions in the Diocese of Swaziland, Eswatini.
Beloved Community Initiative
Their mission is "Dismantling racism through love in action. Creating justice with dignity and respect.
The Beloved Community Initiative for Racial Justice, Healing, and Reconciliation in Iowa aims to “grow a community of reconcilers, justice-makers, and healers” (Becoming, 5). We organize our work in four major areas: telling the truth, proclaiming the dream of Beloved Community, practicing the Way of Love, and repairing the breach in society and institutions."
Episcopal Relief and Development
Together, we’re making a lasting change in four interconnected global priority areas:
-
Early Childhood Development: equipping parents and caregivers so young children can reach their full potential.
-
Women and Girls: forging partnerships to reduce gender-based violence and advance equality.
-
Climate Resilience: investing in communities to strengthen resilience to climate change.
-
Disaster Response: providing emergency relief and long-term support in disasters.
.png)
As the hands and body of Christ, we respond with joy to the call to serve. We do outreach as individuals, in welcoming, serving, and giving, and as a community, in our shared ministries.
From a ECCF receiver
​
Thank you! Not just for the things you gave me, the gas card, and all the info but the genuine care you've shown me.
From a Loaves & Fishes receiver
​
You have the best food bank in town!