Bayview Mission, an outreach to the Bayview community founded by the Rev. Nina Pickerrell, operates a food pantry every Monday. This food pantry provides groceries, including fresh produce, to a community whose resources are few and whose neighborhood access to fresh fruits and vegetables is compromised. Volunteers are needed to prepare bags of groceries and to assist in handing them out. Other opportunities to volunteer at Bayview Mission will be announced in monthly communications. You can learn more about the Bayview Mission by visiting their web page at: www.ministriesofgrace.com/bayview/.

Contact: The Rev. Nina Pickerrell, 415-749-6391, bayviewmission@diocal.org

We meet for a brief reflection and prayer, followed by a light breakfast, and then carpool to our project site, equipped with whatever is needed -- rakes, shovels, brooms or rubber gloves -- for a job that can be "done in a day."

Contact: Mary Wood, 415-749-6327, maryw@gracecathedral.org

Grace Cathedral has partnered with other faith traditions to build twelve new affordable Habitat for Humanity homes on surplus Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) property in San Francisco. Along with Congregation Emanu-El, the San Francisco Islamic Society, and various other religious congregations in the Bay Area, we will volunteer at the construction site. This interfaith work force will begin on Saturdays and Sundays in January to build a brighter future for many families in the Bay Area. We invite you to be part of this exciting opportunity, building interfaith understanding and affordable new homes at the same time. Find out more and meet other members of this interfaith coalition at our inaugural meeting on November 7.

There are many unique components of Habitat's building program. With sweat equity, partner families contribute to the construction of their own homes, gaining the skills needed to maintain their homes - and pride in home ownership. Partner families' homes are sold to them, allowing them to gain needed equity to break the cycle of poverty. With zero-interest mortgage loans, Habitat homes are sold at no profit to Habitat and with zero-interest mortgages. Habitat can afford to serve very low-income families because they rely almost exclusively on volunteer labor at their construction sites. Funding for Habitat's program comes from community sources, including individuals, corporations, private foundations, community organizations, and faith groups. Habitat does not accept government funds for the construction of its homes.

We invite the various ministries at Grace Cathedral to volunteer as a group and to build relationships with the other congregations participating in this project. Together, we will live into the dream of being a house of prayer for all people.

For more information, contact the Office of the Congregation at 415/749-6314 or Admin-OOC@gracecathedral.org.

Founded and supported by Grace Cathedral, the San Francisco Jail Ministry now draws members from several Episcopal churches and beyond. This increasingly well-known and popular program provides social ministry and outreach at the San Francisco County Jails. The Evening Prayer program is led by lay ministers in a conversational style of Bible study and reflection. The Stories From Mom/Dad programs record inmates reading to their children, and provides an opportunity for incarcerated parents to connect or sometimes reconnect with their children. You can learn more about the SF Jail Ministry by visiting their website at: www.ministriesofgrace.org/jail_ministry/.

Contact: The Rev. Margaret Deeths, 415-749-6392, margaretd@gracecathedral.org

GraceWorks is an interfaith, nondenominational ministry of Grace Cathedral in partnership with other secular resources to support unemployed and underemployed professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can learn more about GraceWorks by visiting their website at: www.ministriesofgrace.com/graceworks/.

Contact: The Rev. Whitney Roberson, 415-749-6322, sfgraceworks@yahoo.com

A donation bin is always available in the back of the Cathedral on Sundays, and members of the congregation volunteer time in the Food Bank to stock shelves and prepare deliveries.

For more information, contact the Office of the Congregation.

On the eve of any state or federal execution, Grace Cathedral organizes a vigil either at the site of the execution or on the steps of the Cathedral.

Contact: Office of the Congregation, congregation@gracecathedral.org or call 415/749-6344.

The Stewardship of Creation is dedicated to environmental stewardship at Grace Cathedral and within the community. This green ministry raises awareness about how to be stewards of the planet and care for all of God’s creation. We strive to teach the community about desirable sustainable solutions that heal the relationship between people and the natural world upon which we depend. We help to organize eco-friendly activities during Earth Day in April and the Feast of St. Francis in October. We partner with local environmental organizations and showcase green options such as organic fair trade coffee, energy-saving light bulbs, clean cars, forest-friendly recycled paper, and non-toxic products for the home.

The ministry draws inspiration from Noah, who put two of every animal in his ark, and from the covenant God made with every living creature in the book of Genesis. Our ultimate goal is to be a part of protecting the habitability of the Earth for future generations.

For more information, contact The Rev. Sally Bingham, sally@theregenerationproject.org

Each year a group of pilgrims from Grace Cathedral travel to Nicaragua where we have an ongoing ministry of presence and solidarity. Living for a brief time in a Third World country, learning different customs, eating different food, singing, dancing and worshipping together, provides new ways of seeing the world in which we live and provides new understandings of how we are called to be with each other and how we are to live out the Gospel. For more information, visit the Nicarauga Ministry website at NicaraguaMinistry.org

"If you have come to help me, then you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."
-- Aboriginal saying.

Contact: Debbie Cornue, dcornue@earthlink.net

Grace Cathedral’s ministry in Nicaragua dates back to the late 1980’s. In 1988, congregation member Dorothy Barnhouse went to Managua to start an English department at the Agriculture College. Dorothy was not only a linguist but also a musician and she carried the unlikely dream of bringing music to a country where most people live without adequate nutrition, health care, housing or education. On weekends she taught a few children in a nearby barrio some songs for their church service. The Program "Musica en los Barrios" was born and today has classes in recorder and basic music in about 10 barrios and schools taught by young people who were former students of Dorothy. In 1997, the Rev. Gerald Shaon and Debbie Cornue established a liaison role with Dorothy Barnhouse and led Grace Cathedral’s first pilgrimage to Nicaragua.

For more information, visit the Nicarauga Ministry website at NicaraguaMinistry.org

Contact: Debbie Cornue, dcornue@earthlink.net