Holy Spirit Episcopal Church
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Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, founded in 1870 and located in Missoula, Montana, is an energetic parish dedicated to strengthening our parishioners' well-being and spiritual growth while serving our community and the greater world. The church, a gracious 1915 brick structure, boasts windows by renowned glass artist Charles Connick and a beautifully crafted Bond organ. The church has two full-time and eight part-time staff and a membership nearing 800. Its robust children's program, talented choir, and long-standing outreach programs foster a healthy parish life.
Our vision: We cultivate, challenge and live our faith in Christ through commitment to each other and the world.
Our mission: We follow the example of Jesus as we serve those in need. We work to nurture a welcoming, loving community thrat recognizes and values all of God's people. We embrace scripture, reason, tradtion, and experience to interpret and grow in our faith. We celebrate our faith through the beauty and mystery of our liturgy, musi, and the created world.
Worship times
Volunteer opportunities
Partnership Health Center: One of Holy Spirit's greatest contributions to the community comes through the hundreds of hours of volunteer time given by Holy Spirit parishioners to Partnership Health Center, which offers critical access to affordable health care in the Missoula community.
Habitat for Humanity of Missoula: Holy Spirit is participating in the Good Neighbor Build, raising funds for Habitat homes and helping to build them. If you recycle your aluminum cans here, those funds also go to Habitat.
Missoula Food Bank: Every Sunday donations to the Missoula Food Bank can be made in the little manila envelopes found in the pew.
Winter Sock, Hat, Scarves and Glove Drive for the Poverello Center: We collected clean, used or new men and women's socks, as well as donations of clean new or used men's and women's gloves. All socks and gloves donated were given to the Poverello Center for distribution to Missoula men and women who spend many of their winter hours outdoors.
Red Cross Blood Drive: Twice yearly Holy Spirit hosts a Red Cross blood drive in our parish hall.
Ministries
Social Concerns Ministry
At Holy Spirit, social concerns is integral to mission and our congregation. The Holy Spirit Memorial Foundation provides funding to the Social Concerns Committee to manage in support of outreach projects chosen by the Committee and approved by the Vestry. In recent years, we have sponsored a number of outreach programs that benefit our Church, the local community and the world at large such as Partnership Health Center (since 2003), Missoula Food Bank, Montana Food Bank Network, The Parenting Place and Red Cross in Missoula, a school and clinic in Haiti, an Episcopal parish in New Orleans devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and a medical clinic in Zambia. Holy Spirit initiated a Three Faiths series with Jews, Muslims and Christians sharing meals, conversations and service projects at the Montana Food Bank Network--this program proved so successful that it has become a larger, communitywide event series sponsored by Missoula's faith organizations and the University of Montana.
Holy Spirit, spearheaded by the Social Concerns Committee, is going to be advocating for affordable housing. Watch for more information on our church website: www.holyspiritmissoula.org.
Creation Care Ministry
Today, as the population grows and spreads across the Earth, we see an Earth under stress. Climate change, pollution, loss of habitats, endangered species and a disconnect from Nature are just some of the indications of this stress.
As gardeners in this Eden of Montana, Holy Spirit is taking a more active role as Creation Caretakers. If you are interested in being a part of this new Creation Care ministry, please contact Karen Simons Gartner at kwgartner@sbcglobal.net to join the discussion on how this ministry will take shape.
Hellgate Community Ministry
At Hellgate High School, we work in support of the more than 60 students who identify as homeless (McKinney Vento Act). A growing number of our neighbor students are living with people other than their parents or guardians, and greater numbers of large families are living in crowded accommodations. More than one in four students are at an economic disadvantage. 30-35% of Hellgate students qualify for free and reduced meals. A growing number of refugee students are working to be a part of the Hellgate school community.
Opportunities to be involved with Hellgate High School and their Family Resource Center (FRC) throughout the year:
- Be one of the bi-monthly shoppers for toiletry needs and snacks for the FRC
- Be one of the monthly FRC aides to help Tracy with FRC needs
- Be a tutor or program participant in Hellgate's Flagship program - contact Arza Hammond at 728-2400 ext. 6071 or hhsflagship@mcps.k12.mt.us
- Contribute to the church to support the laundry ministry at Sparkle and/or the haircut ministry
- Supply snacks for special Hellgate student testing days in the Parish Hall
Please contact HSP ministry coordinator, A’Lisa Scott, with your questions and ideas by calling the church office at 542-2167
Parenting Place Community Ministry
At Parenting Place, kids and families are strengthened through parenting classes and 1:1 parent support.
Opportunities to be involved with Parenting Place, 1644 S 8th St W:
- Sign up to volunteer for our next on-site work party by contacting me through email or the church office phone (see below)
- Sign up for a Parenting Class - email Ivy Anderson at ivy@parentingplace.net for a schedule of the classes offered
- Donate to and shop at Donation Warehouse, where a portion of every sale benefits PP programs
- Volunteer for the April Awareness team to help promote strong families and healthy childhoods
Contact me with your questions and ideas by email or through the church office.
Thank you for joining in such tangible ways to love our neighbors!
The Venerable Dorcie Dvarishkis
dorcied@gmail.com
International Relationships
Studer Trust
This outreach project began as a book study. We learned that one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time is the treatment of women around the world. Perhaps the most important solution is the education of girls and women. In many places around the globe, there is little if any social support for girls to be educated, and in fact, a lot of pressure socially, and financially, to keep girls at home.
We chose to become involved with Studer Trust, which at the time had an 11-year track record building schools and fostering students in Burma (now called Myanmar). Our fundraising provided support for six girls in Myanmar to continue their education and obtain the certificate required to enter the skilled work force or prepare for university education.
In fall 2015, a group of 16 volunteers from Holy Spirit traveled to Myanmar on a three-week teaching mission, helping teachers adopt a method of teaching English, in English , to young students. While there, our volunteers learned about the lack of preventive and treatment dental services, and we provided funding for a dental clinic which serves over 17 nearby villages in addition to the students, monks and teachers at the monastery and its dental school.
Some of our volunteers have made additional trips to Myanmar to help with further teaching. Another group of teacher volunteers traveled to Myanmar in early 2018.
News about Holy Spirit Episcopal Church
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Despite coup, Missoulians rally for Myanmar schools
This outreach project began as a book study. We learned that one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time is the treatment of women around the world. Perhaps the most important solution is the education of girls and women.
130 S 6th St E
Missoula, MT 59801-4222
United States
