COmmunity Outreach
In the Garden
Every Sunday, Trinity offers a free community lunch at 1:00 p.m. in the church Undercroft (Anglican for basement). We begin with worship & praise, and then a homemade meal is served. All are welcome! Volunteers are needed to offer hospitality, prepare food, serve the meal, set up, and clean up. Volunteer shifts run from 11:45am to 2:00 p.m. For more information, contact Lori.
Learn more about In the Garden!
In the Garden partners with Episcopal Churches, local businesses & ecumenical partners, including both Jewish and Muslim communities to feed our hungry and homeless neighbors a warm meal. The Muslim Student Association provides to go bag lunches for guests following each meal that takes place while OSU is in session. They now make additional lunches for Trinity to distribute to The Friends of the Homeless Shelter.
We have an expansive partnership with St. John’s UCC who host their weekly meal (The Largest Table) at 12:30pm on Wednesdays at Trinity with the same format of indoor, hot meal being served after a devotional, has led to shared care for this community. By sharing the kitchen and resources, we’ve extended the impact of In the Garden as St. John’s UCC now averages fifty-five guests a week, drawing from a different crowd on weekdays than frequents In The Garden.
We give thanks for the following partners who help provide meals for In the Garden throughout the year.
All Saints New Albany
St. James Clintonville
St. Andrew’s Pickerington
St Philip’s Columbus
St John's Worthington
Harmon Middle School Teachers
Dublin Presbyterian
OSU Muslim Student Association
Temple Israel
Lexi’s Deli
MORE THAN A MEAL
Our guests are often living on the land, and without the resources to acquire proper clothing or supplies to survive intemperate weather. Trinity keeps a supply closet of outerwear, socs & underwear, hygiene supplies and camping items to support our neighbors.
Every holiday season, In The Garden distributes a generous gift bag to all our guests. Items included in this gift back include basic necessities for winter (e.g. socks, gloves, hats, scarves) as well as personal hygiene items and anything else we have collected from other donors.
Community Partnerships
Trinity participates in B.R.E.A.D. (Building Responsibility Equality and Dignity), a statewide organization comprised of 44 congregations of different faith traditions, who each year identify certain community needs, and build cases to put to city and state officials in an open public forum. Issues on which such overt push for change has been exerted are payday lending, abandoned housing, and affordable housing. For more information about the B.R.E.A.D. Organization, click HERE.
Trinity supports the Columbus Coalition for the Homeless financially and hosts the annual Memorial Service
The Memorial Service is held annually to honor and remember people who have passed away while homeless in Columbus. Held on or near the longest night of the year in December, the service includes inspiring speakers, music, and reading of names of those who died.
CCH also produces the street card (resource list) which Trinity distributes to our unhoused neighbors.