St. Philip's Episcopal Church

Sanctuary Farm and Market is a program of the St. Philip's Wellness Program. The mission of Sanctuary Farm and Market is to build our community in two ways:

1. Promote community physical health by growing the best quality healthy foods using sustainable growing techniques and making these foods readily available and inexpensive to our community members.

2. To promote community mental and spiritual health by offering programs to educate community members on the value of urban growing as a reconnecting pathway back to God.

Sanctuary Farms, Inc. operates as a Nonprofit Organization as our main goal is to build the community and individual members, not to make money. However, we understand funds are needed to continue changing our dreams to reality. We strongly believe that God has placed us on this path and will provide what we need to accomplish our goals.

Currently, as a nonprofit, we accept tax deductible contributions from Individuals and Businesses. Local Businesses and organizations are also able to partner with us, helping to grow our community. We actively seek all forms of grant funding to grow our ministry. We raise funds by offering our popular Wellness Program foods for sale to the community (See “Wellness To Go”).

Working as an outreach ministry of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, a nonprofit organization, we have built a greenhouse. In the greenhouse we grow plants for food which we use in our multiple growing spaces and make available to our community members. It also serves as an education facility for our own members and other local schools and youth groups.

We are currently reworking the landscape of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church to include much-improved water conservation and distribution as well as an extensive growing bed plan for use by our community. In these growing areas, we will practice sustainable growing methods including efficient water and power management, composting, alternative growing methods, etc. We work to educate the people about their health and wellness and the value of urban growing to their lives. As in our other growing areas, harvested crops from the new gardens will be made available to community members and used in our Wellness Program.

It is our hope that in the future, we can bring other growers together to share the fruits of their labors in a market for the community. We are also working on a classroom/kitchen for the education and enjoyment of our community members and to continue the work of the Wellness Program. We see many directions in which our ministry can go. We strive to stay mindful that God is our driver and pray daily that the work we do is His will and to His glory.

Sanctuary Farms, Inc. is and will continue to grow and share food, provide a place for those who wish to grow to do so and share the knowledge and blessing of nurturing life with our community and beyond.

More information: http://www.sanctuaryfarmspc.org/

St. Philip's parishioners collect food items as well as participate in fundraising events throughout the year for the United Churches of Algiers Food Bank.

The St. Philip's Wellness Program began in 2012 through an awakening of parishioner Michelle "Mimi" Lucurto. After 17 years as a registered nurse working in One Day Surgery, Mimi noticed the surgeries change from acute type surgeries to repetitive work for chronic diseases. She began to do research to understand why this was the case and soon came to the realization that medicine is not the route to wellness. Proper nutrition is. God made being well simple and provided everything we need to do so.

Once a quarter at St. Philip's, educational and cooking classes are held to teach proper nutrition. The goal is to gather the community and educate them on those things that can make them much healthier people in mind, body, and spirit.

Tutoring session for grade school through college are being offered at the church Monday through Friday, 3:00PM to 6:00PM.