Our Community Partnerships
Justice looks not only to relieve suffering but to transform the conditions that cause it. Through our partnerships across Bucks County and greater Philadelphia, St. Andrew’s shares meals, builds friendships, and joins in God’s work of restoring wholeness to our communities. From preparing food and collecting donations to teaching, tutoring, advocating, and organizing, there are many ways to take part.
Our Focus Areas
Food Justice – Ensuring access to healthy, affordable food for all.
Education – Supporting lifelong learning and opportunity.
Racial Justice – Praying, learning, and acting for equity and reconciliation.
Refugee Resettlement – Welcoming new neighbors and helping families build a home.
St. Andrew’s was a founding member of the Interfaith Food Alliance (IFA), a much-needed food pantry for families in Morrisville. Through donations and volunteers from local faith communities, the IFA provides food, personal care items, emergency assistance, and so much more. St. Andrew’s collects non-perishable food and monetary donations year-round for the IFA, and many of our parishioners are regular volunteers at the pantry. Come and join us!
The Interfaith Food Alliance (IFA)
St. James Episcopal School
St. James is a tuition-free Episcopal middle school in Northwest Philadelphia that nurtures students’ minds, bodies, spirits, and creativity. The campus hums with life and is far more than a school —hosting community classes, sharing free food, offering basic medical care and job counseling, and so much more. Join St. Andrew’s on Saturday mornings to carpool and volunteer together at the Welcome Table, St. James’ weekly free farmers market. You can also tutor, teach adult classes, or share skills in tech, theater, law, and more. Our Rector serves on the board and would love to help you get involved.
Caring for Friends
For more than 40 years, volunteers have gathered in the St. Andrew’s Parish House once a month to assemble meals for Caring for Friends. Everyone is welcome to drop in on the third Saturday of the month from 8:30-10am to help with meal making.
Volunteers bring cooked and sliced proteins (chicken, lasagna, meatloaf, etc.) and the church provides the sides. Some volunteers drop off the food at 8:30am, and others stay to help assemble meals – often making 1,000 meals in less than 2 hours! It’s a free flowing group, with many local volunteers joining our parishioners, and we always have a great time. Kids are welcome to come with their parents.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Andrew’s mobilized hundreds of local volunteers to provide more than 50,000 meals and soups to the homebound, homeless, and hungry.
Bucks County Interfaith Coalition for Refugee Resettlement (BCICRR)
Since the 1990s, St. Andrew’s has welcomed refugee families—first from Bosnia, then Syria, and now three families from Afghanistan—with more (we pray) to come. We helped found BCICRR and continue to work closely with faith communities across our area to support refugees making a home in Bucks County.
There are many simple, meaningful ways to help: driving family members to appointments, tutoring or ESL, job training and mentoring, assisting with special events, and more. You can also join the St. Andrew’s members who help lead BCICRR, coordinating services for families today and preparing to welcome those arriving next.
Yardley Farmers Market
We believe good food should be within reach for every household. St. Andrew’s helped the Market accept SNAP (“food stamps”) and offers up to $30 in matching funds for each SNAP recipient at every market to help stretch their food dollars further. This partnership brings together local farmers and neighbors in need of food while keeping more money in the local economy—a great thing for everyone.
Volunteering at the Market is a great way to get to know local farmers, artisans, and the Yardley community!
Racial Justice Collaborative
In 2020, St. Andrew’s began a Monday night prayer service for racial justice that quickly grew into a meeting point for other churches across our region to pray, discuss, and collaborate for racial justice. We continue to meet on Mondays at 7pm on Zoom, with prayers and discussion focused on contemporary saints who embody the struggle for racial justice, and a vibrant community that’s always welcoming more to take their seat at the table and collaborate for justice in our time.
Bucks County Housing Group (BCHG)
St. Andrew’s partners with BCHG in their mission of ending housing and food insecurity in our local community. Together with residents of BCHG’s Robert Morris Apartments in Morrisville, we started a community garden that has flourished and is now maintained by residents. We hold social events – parties, outings to root for the Trenton Thunder baseball team, and holiday celebrations – to knit us together as friends and partners. St. Andrew’s also provides funding and donations to support the mission of BCHG at Robert Morris Apartments.
The Yardley Sharing House
St. Andrew’s operates the Yardley Sharing House —our grey tiny house at West Afton Ave & Penn Valley Dr (right outside the church office)—open 24 hours a day to the whole local community for drop offs of donations. Church volunteers organize and deliver donations to community partners focused on food and housing security, and the entire local community is welcome to donate and get involved. Donations are always needed of unexpired non-perishable food and personal care items (soap, shampoo, etc.), which can be dropped off at any time. Other special collections are announced regularly in our newsletter.
