“Go ye into all the world and make disciples…”
The affiliated parishes of St. James Episcopal Church, Bradley Beach, and St. Michael the Archangel Episcopal Church, Wall Township have embarked on a new ministry, “The Global Outreach Ministry to Liberia.” This new ministry is an expansion of the current mission and outreach at both parishes. In May 2021, the Rev. Dr. James T. Yarsiah, Priest-In-Charge of the affiliated parishes, launched this new ministry. The global outreach effort is the first of its kind in the Diocese of New Jersey and is expected to continue.
On August 7, 2021, we loaded a forty-foot shipping container with donated materials and relief supplies, bound for the Freeport of Monrovia, Liberia. According to the shippers, Missionary Expediters, the relief container is expected to arrive at the end of September or early October. The monetary value of the contents is estimated at more than $25,000 United States Dollars.
Contents of the container include several boxes of school and office supplies, PPEs (disinfecting wipes, face masks, hand sanitizers, and gloves), backpacks, children’s books, science textbooks, educational games, toys, balls (basket, soccer, and volley), flip-flops, hygienic materials, sleeping bags, wheelchairs, walkers, metal chairs, college math books, Bibles, theological books, used clergy vestments, choir and acolyte robes, church linens and ornaments, used Prayer Books, and a drum set. Others include relief materials, dry food items, clothes, shoes, socks, beddings, blankets, and assorted materials. This shipment as well as previous shipments has been a community effort.
Friends at Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal) in Nashville, Tennessee collaborated with our affiliated parishes to help defray the cost for trucking and shipping. Individuals donated their time and trucks to pick up many of the items from different locations. Parishioners from our affiliated parishes helped to pack and load boxes of donated materials. Our affiliated parishes thank all donors and assure them that their donations will make a huge difference in the lives of people in the churches, schools, orphanages, and communities in Liberia.
Beneficiaries of the donations in Liberia include Episcopal churches, the Foundation for the Rights of Women and Girls, orphanages, Episcopal and non-Episcopal schools, and the Liberian Group of 77 (a Government of Liberia institution for the handicapped).
In preparation for our next shipment in 2022/23, our affiliated parishes have received donated textbooks from the Wall Township School District and are open to other donations. Parishes and Mission churches in the Diocese of New Jersey are encouraged to donate used Prayer Books, 1982 and/or 1982 Hymnals, clergy vestments, clerical shirts, robes, church materials, and ornaments, etc, that they may not need, but can be used elsewhere. Those interested in helping may email Fr. James T. Yarsiah or call 732-681-1863 (St. Michael’s) or 732-775-5414 (St. James). Donations can be shipped or dropped off at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 2015 Allenwood Road, NJ 07719. A detailed list of needed items is posted on our St. James and St. Michael’s web sites.