Outreach
When we gather for Holy Eucharist, we are sent out at the end of the service with the dismissal: “Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord!” We are a sent people, who seek to love and serve God wherever we go and whatever we are doing. We are also pilgrims, who go with the expectation of encountering God through others and of being renewed and transformed by that encounter.
As a Cathedral, we reach out through specific Cathedral outreach programs, our hospitality as a “house of prayer for all people,” our parochial entities, volunteer and financial support of partner ministries, and, most importantly, the many ways that Cathedral parishioners respond to Jesus’ commission throughout their lives.
Our Cathedral outreach programs seek to be a sign of Christ’s love, mercy, and justice in this world, while nurturing spiritual growth and community among those who participate in them. Below are some of the many opportunities for you to go with us!
We are in touch with our various community partners to stay up-to-date about what the Cathedral can provide to help care for our neighbors in need, which changes regularly. For more information about our most urgent needs please view our most recent newsletter. To be added to the Outreach newsletter campaign, please contact Sara Craig-Goodell.
For specific questions about the Cathedral's mission and outreach, please contact the Rev. Canon Julia Mitchener.
Please consider making a donation to the Cathedral's Mission and Outreach fund to help us support our community partners and engage the parish in meaningful service. If you wish to support the Cathedral’s outreach ministries by contributing to the outreach endowment fund, please contact David Rocchio. Thank you!
Outreach Partners and Agencies
Housing, Homelessness, and Food Insecurity
25:35 Ministry
25:35 Ministry provides nutritious lunches to participants in Church of the Common Ground’s “Common Soles” foot clinic one Tuesday per month. Volunteers develop menus tailored to those who do not always have access to fresh, healthy food, then prepare and serve the meals.
BCM Georgia
BCMGeorgia works to keep people from becoming homeless and to promote economic stability. Volunteers are needed to help mentor individuals and families enrolled in BCM’s financial education programs.
Buckhead Cares
Buckhead Cares is a satellite office of Intown Cares that provides triage, emergency, and long term supportive services to our unhoused neighbors in Buckhead. It was founded last year by Intown Cares, the Cathedral and three other area congregations. Parishioners help staff quarterly mobile food pantries and provide other forms of assistance.
Church of the Common Ground
Church of the Common Ground is a “church without walls” that worships outdoors downtown every Sunday at 1 p.m. The Cathedral has multiple teams that prepare and deliver sack lunches to CCG, then stay for services and fellowship. We also host the annual CCG Christmas party in Child Hall each December. Please contact the Rev. Canon Julia Mitchener to join the volunteer team for Church of the Common Ground.
Crossroads Community Ministries
Crossroads Community Ministries provides access to resources that help people experiencing homelessness progress on the road to economic and personal stability. Volunteers help serve meals in Clyde’s Kitchen, assist in the mailroom, and greet guests coming in for assistance.
Habitat for Humanity
The Cathedral has helped to complete 35 Habitat houses. Each December, volunteers assemble and deliver Christmas baskets to homeowners.
The 38th Annual Homeless Requiem
The 38th Annual Homeless Requiem memorializes Atlantans who have died in the past year while unhoused. A foot clinic, COVID and flu vaccines, childcare, a clothing closet, employment assistance, and a delicious meal are among the services offered to guests prior to the liturgy. Several hundred parishioners of all ages volunteer before, during, or after the Requiem. You can support this ministry year-round by donating here.
Intown Cares
Intown Cares offers support services to those experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. Individuals, groups, or families can sign up to help stock shelves at the food bank, inventory donations, and assist clients at twice weekly food distributions. The Cathedral also collects nonperishable food items for Intown Cares each month, and the Cathedral Farmers Market contributes fresh produce every week in season.
Lunch Together
Lunch Together has drawn neighbors from across the city for free food and fellowship each Friday throughout the summer with over 700 meals served. It is so popular that we've extended the program through October 30! Those joining in the lunches include parishioners, residents of Parish Grove, individuals and families living in local shelters or on the streets, worshippers from the 12:15 Eucharist, representatives from local social service agencies, Cathedral youth, and more. As participants enjoy a meal, swap stories, and get to know one another, we move beyond divisions of age, race, and socioeconomics to enjoy community in a sacred third space. Please join us Friday afternoons from 1–2 p.m. for lunch or 12:30–2:30 p.m. to volunteer. We hope to see you soon!
Make a Donation for Lunch Together
Parish Grove
Parish Grove (formerly Cathedral Towers) is a midrise apartment building located next to the Cathedral campus offering affordable housing for seniors. The Cathedral provides a weekly Bible study and monthly Eucharist for residents, monthly birthday parties, pastoral care, extensive financial support, free access to concerts and other special events, and lay chaplaincy services. There are also periodic offerings such as house blessings, animal blessings, hymn sings, game nights, and the annual Christmas Caroling Party featuring the children of the Allegro Choir. Individuals and families may sign up to be paired with a Parish Grove “buddy,” providing companionship and support to residents who request it.
Personal Care Items Ministry
Each year during Epiphany, the St. Veronica’s Guild raises funds to purchase personal care items which are distributed quarterly to Emmaus House, Crossroads Ministries, Church of the Holy Comforter, and Church of the Common Ground. While the bulk of their fundraising is during Epiphany, you can donate any time by clicking here.
PCCI (Project Community Connections, Incorporated)
PCCI (Project Community Connections, Incorporated) seeks to disrupt cycles of homelessness and to secure quality, affordable homes for our community to live and thrive. The Cathedral hosts PCCI’s annual 5K for Housing, Hope, and Resilience in February. Parishioners of all ages run or walk, sponsor, and cheer on participants, and provide assistance on the race course and in the race village.
Children, Youth and Education
LaAmistad
Through our partnership with LaAmistad, the Cathedral hosts more than two dozen Latino students from Garden Hills Elementary School four afternoons per week from 3-5 p.m. Cathedral staff and volunteers provide a warm welcome, snacks, a weekly chapel service, supervised play time, and seasonal celebrations. LaAmistad tutors help students with schoolwork. Parishioners with a particular interest such as knitting, arts and crafts, sports, cooking, or music can volunteer to teach their hobby to the children.
The Boyce L. Ansley School
The Boyce L. Ansley School is a tuition-free private elementary school for children impacted by homelessness. Located in downtown Atlanta, it was the beneficiary of the 2024 Cathedral Giving by Design campaign. There are volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups, including teacher appreciation events, sorting and organizing student uniforms, office assistance, campus clean up, helping with special programs, and much more.
Cathedral Scholars
The Cathedral Scholars program provides financial, vocational, social, and spiritual support to individuals pursuing their educational goals. Scholarships help fill the gap between the aid students have received from their academic institutions, various grants and work-study programs, loans, family contributions, and that which is still required for them to be able to attend school. In many cases, the funds awarded by a Cathedral scholarship make the difference in whether a student can attend their college of choice, or, indeed, attend college at all. In addition to financial aid, students enjoy networking opportunities and fellowship with one another at Cathedral-sponsored social events during school breaks.
Emmaus House
Emmaus House is a ministry of the Diocese of Atlanta offering an array of community services to residents of the Peoplestown neighborhood. Cathedral parishioners serve as volunteers at the food pantry, assist with the after-school program and help support the summer Freedom School. St. Monica’s Guild sponsors an annual toy drive for the Emmaus House Christmas party. There are more opportunities to volunteer with Emmaus House, which can be found here.
The Summer Outreach Speaker Series
The Summer Outreach Speaker Series takes place in Child Hall during the Sunday School hour in July and August. Leaders of Cathedral outreach initiatives and diocesan ministries as well as representatives from our community outreach partners share about their work and encourage parishioner participation.
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Additional Opportunities
Cathedral Giving by Design
Cathedral Giving by Design, formerly known as the Antiques Show, is an annual event held at the Cathedral for the past 54 years. This event, chaired, supported, and organized by members of the Episcopal Church Women, is a fundraiser with a beneficiary chosen each year by a committee of Cathedral members. The two-day event takes place in January and celebrates home and hospitality. To date, this event has raised nearly $7 million for non-profit organizations in Atlanta.
The Cathedral Towers Fund and the Plummer Outreach Fund
These two newly endowed funds totaling over $50 million provide substantial resources for ministry with our most vulnerable neighbors. Both are scheduled to award their first grants in the fourth quarter of 2026. Grant committees study needs, dialogue with community partners, and invite applications for assistance with major projects seeking to provide housing and supportive services for seniors (Cathedral Towers Fund) and help with housing, food, education, healthcare, and other necessities for individuals and families of all ages (Plummer Fund).
Church of the Holy Comforter
Church of the Holy Comforter is a mission of the Diocese of Atlanta that seeks to restore all people to unity with God and with each other. About 60% of its parishioners live with mental illness. The Cathedral helps serve lunch at the church’s Friendship Center every other month. Help is also welcome in the community garden. Other volunteer opportunities at CHC are available here.
Co-OP (Community of Outreach Partners)
Co-OP (Community of Outreach Partners) provides volunteer support for a wide array of Cathedral outreach opportunities. Parishioners can sign up to be added to an email distribution list and receive regular updates about when and where help is needed.
Discretionary Fund for the Needy
The first Sunday of every month, the loose offering benefits our discretionary fund for the needy. This program allows the Cathedral to provide emergency funds for families and individuals in the Cathedral community who are experiencing homelessness, food insecurity, medical crises, or other situations that have created a sudden financial hardship.You can support this ministry by making a donation here.
Episcopal Church Women (ECW)
The Episcopal Church Women guilds are made up of a community of Cathedral women, usually with a common interest or mission. Many of the ECW guilds support a specific outreach ministry or organization. Every woman in the Cathedral parish is welcome to join any of the guild or ECW hosted events.
Prison Ministries
Prison Ministries allow trained and licensed volunteers to share faith and hope with women at Arrendale Prison. The Cathedral also supports community organizations such as Parole Advocates, Inc. and Motherhood Beyond Bars, and volunteer opportunities are available with each.
Race and Healing Ministries
Race and Healing Ministries offer opportunities to engage in the quest for racial justice. Equitable Dinners provide the chance to gather with individuals from both the parish and the wider community for a meal, one act play, and conversation about racism. Classes and book studies allow parishioners of all ages to explore our relationships with race and to learn what our faith teaches us. Pilgrimages to civil rights memorials and museums around the South are offered periodically, and parishioners may apply to go on the annual diocesan pilgrimage to Cape Coast, Ghana.
Respite Care Atlanta
Respite Care Atlanta provides spiritually integrated respite care for adults with early to mid-stage cognitive challenges. Volunteers get to share their special talents and ideas while helping to provide a safe and stimulating environment for program participants.
Ricks-Wheeler Fund Grants
The proceeds of the James Wynn Ricks, Jr. and Kenneth Wayne Wheeler Fund, a gift of the late Jim Ricks, are designated to support programs and activities which minister to persons living with HIV/AIDS. The amount available for disbursement each year now exceeds $30,000, and grant requests are reviewed by a committee of Cathedral parishioners. While engaging with our community partners by volunteering and serving with them, the Cathedral also contributes monetarily to ensure stability for our partners’ ongoing efforts to serve our neighbors. 2025 Ricks-Wheeler Grant recipients include Aid Atlanta, H.E.R.O for Children, Open Hand Atlanta, Positive Impact Health Centers, and Status: Home. Applications to receive a grant open in February.
Youth Mission Week
Participants in Youth Mission Week engage in relational ministries with a number of our community partners for one week over the summer. For more information about the Cathedral's youth programs, please contact Keith Dumke, Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries.