St. Patrick's Episcopal Church

St. Patrick's Episcopal Church is a relatively young church, being admitted as a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Florida in Fevruary 2008.  We are located in the northwest area of Saint Johns County on State Road 13.  As Episcopalians we affirm our Baptismal Covenant by proclaiming by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.  We are committed to seeking and serving Christ in all persons, striving for justice and peace among all people and respecting the dignity of every human being.

We believe God has called us to a couple of significant and important outreach ministries.  Through our Feed My Lambs ministry, each month St. Patrick's delivers groceries to approximately 40 families whose children attend Crookshank Elementary School in western St. Augustine.  This program is unique because as we deliver the food directly to each family, we are able to spend time catching up with both the children and their adults, hearing about school progress and other activities.  The program helps these families at the end of each month when things are the toughest financially for them.  School personnel have verified that our "lambs" are better behaved and doing better in their studies because of this feeding program. We also collect school supplies to be delivered to the school so the teachers are able to make sure the children have the resources they need.

Mosquitoes and gnats are major pests in our area. Each Spring and Summer we collect personal cans of bug spray to be given to those who are experiencing homelessness in our area.  Data has shown that the main reason for emergency visits by our homeless population is due to secondary infections from insect bites.  Records kept show a 100% effectiveness in reducing/eliminating those emergency visits for those who have been given a can/bottle of bug spray.  We invite our surrounding community to participate in this ministry and in 2017 over 1000 cans of bug spray were collected and delivered and another 500 +/- are ready to be delivered next year!

Some of our impoverished neighbors are able to receive eggs from a farmers co-op, but we have realized they have no containers to carry home their eggs, so we ask people to bring in their empty egg cartons!

The St. Patrick's Wellness Center was launched in 2016.  We believe we were created in the image of God and connect the theme of the Trinity to our Body, Soul & Spirit.  The body is the physical part of us.  The soul is our mind, will and emotions.  The spirit is that which connects to our Creator God.  The goal of health and wellness is balance in body, soul and spirit and therefore, the mission of the Wellness Center is to provide opportunities that will help our community achieve and maintain that balance.