The amazing thing about writing a profile such as this is you are offered a rare opportunity to reflect on how and why you started volunteering your time and energy towards a project or an organization. When I began attending St. Thomas' six years ago I was looking for a church and community I could call my own. New to D.C., I moved to here right after college and growing up in the Episcopal Church I naturally gravitated towards the familiar. St. Thomas' offered a progressive, Christian community one could easily want to be a part of, but honestly it was hard to find my place at first. Simply attending services on Sunday wasn't going cut it - wasn't going to build the community I was looking for.

Face it, it is too easy to slip out the door and avoid people and conversations at coffee hour. So how did I finally meet this desire to build my own community? I joined a committee. The Outreach Committee to be exact. I know, I know. It doesn’t sound glamorous. But you know; it worked. By joining a committee I joined a community and found a group of people I could laugh with, greet on the street and approach every Sunday. On top of that, through my work on outreach I was introduced to two amazing organizations that have since then enabled me to meet more people and truly build a community I can call my and give back to community in which we live, work and play everyday. So take a moment to learn a little about the organizations below and may be you can find a way to build a community at St. Thomas’ and beyond.

>>Transitional Housing Corporation

>>Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington