King’s Mobile Estates

Throughout the year, Holy Trinity partners with King’s Mobile Estates—a residential community in Opelika—to offer support and resources to the residents through a number of different initiatives and efforts.

Food Packing & Delivery—Thanks to a partnership with the East Alabama Food Bank and the generous efforts of our parishioners, we are able to offer a monthly distribution of nutritious food to the residents. For additional information email Kelley Young.

Community Pavilion—In the Fall of 2022 and the Spring of 2023, Holy Trinity partnered with Connie and Steven King and a team of students from the Auburn University McWhorter School of Building Science to construct a community pavilion for use by the residents of King’s Mobile Estates. In April, the pavilion was blessed by our clergy and following the blessing, we had a mobile food truck delivery. In the future, the pavilion will be used for community and family celebrations, educational opportunities and medical services. The full presentation from the Building Science students can be found here.
Shoe Your Love—Wise & Wonderful Fellowship at Holy Trinity teamed up with the Episcopal Youth Council (EYC) to provide new shoes to the children at King’s Estates. Parishioners purchased the requested shoes, and volunteers delivered them to the families.

Backpack & School Supply Drive—At the beginning of each school year, Holy Trinity parishioners donate backpacks for the children at King’s Estates. Our volunteers work together to stuff the backpacks with grade-appropriate supplies and deliver them to the residents so each child starts the year with all the tools they will need.

Our parishioners also support the residents at King’s Estates each year through various additional efforts, including the development of a community garden in the neighborhood, Share the Warmth coat and warm clothing drive, a donation of Christmas gifts for the children at King’s in December, and a children’s book drive.

Mercy Medical Ministry

The mission of Mercy Medical Clinic is to share the love of Jesus Christ and his good news of hope by providing quality, compassionate medical care to the medically under-served in Lee County and the surrounding communities.

Patient Information & Services: Mercy Medical Clinic offers a wide variety of services, including medical care, women’s health screenings, spiritual encouragement, a prescription assistance program and much more.

How to Help: Mercy Medical could not exist without the support of the community. There are a variety of ways in which you can serve, such as front office clerical, medical assistant/nurse, provider, spiritual encourager, handy man, mailings, and many other ways. If you are interested in volunteering, please call the Mercy Medical office at 334.501.1081.

We are so grateful for the donations from churches, civic organizations and individuals. As a result, we are able to provide quality medical care to the patients in Lee County and the surrounding area in Alabama. It is only because of the generosity of our community that we are able to provide these services.

These services are available to the residents of King’s Estates and Redeeming Grace Ministries.

Clinic Hours: Monday–Thursday, 8 am–5 pm
Medication Pickup: Monday–Wednesday, 9-11 am; 1–3 pm
Contact Us: Phone (334) 501-1081 Fax (334) 501-1083
For more information, visit www.MercyMedicalAuburn.org.

Redeeming Grace Ministries

The mission of Redeeming Grace Ministries is to see people set free through the redeeming and life-transforming grace of Jesus Christ. It is a program that bridges the gap between rehabilitation/correctional incarceration and long-term, independent, sober living, offering a 9–12 month residential program for women 19 years and older who desire to transform their lives and maintain recovery as thriving, contributing citizens. Based on the promises of Isaiah 61—healing, freedom and restoration are available through a relationship with Jesus Christ. The program offers counseling, Bible study, recovery, budgeting, parenting, job training and other life skill classes. This organization believes the transitional living phase they offer is a missing component in many rehabilitation programs. The goal of Redeeming Grace Ministries is to give women the opportunity to learn and practice the skills that result in long-term restoration and recovery.

For the past few years Holy Trinity—along with several other local churches—has supported Lara Potts and her vision for this program. Redeeming Grace acquired a house in Valley, Ala., and admitted the first women to the program in January 2021.

If you are interested in volunteering or just want to learn more about Redeeming Grace Ministries, click here.

Neighborhood Food Project

The Neighborhood Food Project allows Holy Trinity parishioners to work together as “neighbors” to address the issue of food insecurity in our region.

Here is how the program works:

Volunteers receive a reusable green grocery bag to fill with nonperishable items. (Bags are available on the Monk’s Table in the Parish Commons.)
Each week during your usual grocery trip, simply purchase one extra nonperishable food item to put into your bag (i.e. canned goods, rice, beans, pasta, peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, cereal, etc.)
On the 2nd Sunday of February, April, June, August, October, and December, you will leave your full green bag in the bed of Shelley Aistrup’s pickup truck in the church parking lot, and Shelley will deliver the bags to the Food Bank of East Alabama the next Monday. Pickup dates in 2024 are Feb. 11, April 14, June 9, Aug. 11, Oct. 13 and Dec. 8.
At drop-off, pick up a new bag and repeat the process.

These regular donations help replenish the Food Bank’s shelves and provide food for the 1-in-5 residents in our area who struggle to put food on the table consistently. In 2023, our parishioners donated over 1,000 pounds of quality nonperishable items! Thank you to everyone who has participated in the Neighborhood Food Project efforts!

Praying for an end to hunger in our region!

Alabama Prison Birth Project

The Alabama Prison Birth Project (APBP) is a non-profit organization serving the population of Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka, Ala. Their mission is to improve the health of newborns birthed by women in custody while strengthening maternal bonds and maternal self-sufficiency. Services include individual doula support, group education and support, nutritious meals, ensuring mother’s milk delivery and re-entry support.

Holy Trinity has opportunities to support the mission of APBP in a variety of ways. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, we organized a group to prepare a nutritious lunch once a month for the women attending the prenatal/postnatal support group at Tutwiler Prison. Though this is no longer possibly each month, we await every opportunity to engage in this nutrition ministry.

Holy Trinity also provided partial support for the salary of a talented doula, who is now one of two doulas who work nearly full-time for the Prison Birth Project and receive a salary and small benefit stipend. In the midst of the pandemic, together with other area churches, we were able to provide funds toward three videoconferencing equipment stations that have served the entire prison population with educational courses and, most importantly, make mother-child virtual visitations possible.

We also have offered assistance to an APBP client who recently re-entered the community—finding ways to support her (e.g., donated baby items, use of discretionary funds to partially support the purchase of a used car) as she works to establish economic stability for herself and her new baby. As the Alabama Prison Birth Project continues to grow its re-entry services, we will explore ways to offer our skills, prayers and support along the way. We also hope to hold discussions among our congregation to help foster a better understanding of criminal justice issues and compassion for incarcerated individuals.

APBP always welcomes donations to help with basic housing supplies. You may purchase items directly from this Amazon wishlist and have them shipped to 215 Willow Creek Rd., Auburn, AL 36832.

If you have an interest in delving deeper into these topics or supporting this ministry, please reach out to Stephanie Ennis.

Sawyerville Day Camp

Sawyerville Summer Camp is a free day camp for children and youth ages 6-14 living in Hale County, Alabama. In Summer 2023, we hosted three four-day camp sessions, welcoming over 500 campers and more than 200 volunteer staff. The staff are high school and college-age young people ages 16 and older. The staff come from all over the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama and the local community.

Namungo Village, Uganda

Holy Trinity’s History with Namungo Village

Since 2017, Holy Trinity has supported a relational ministry with the Namungo village in Uganda. This relationship began when Patrick Sserunjogi, resident of Namungo, came to members of Holy Trinity and talked about the needs of his community—a village of 2000 families scattered throughout a few square miles of the jungle and about one to one-and-a-half hours by car from Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Water wells were the most urgent need for the families in this village, and Patrick asked Holy Trinity to consider raising money to support the drilling of a bore-head well, which would provide clean water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning—forever changing the lives of the people living in this village.

In response, many generous Holy Trinity parishioners supported the well through donations, which included proceeds from the children’s Lenten mite boxes. Additional funds came from the Glanton Trust and the Holy Trinity Endowment Fund, and in the summer of 2018 the first 70-meter well was drilled, which serves 200 families. To convey the gratitude of the people of Namungo for our providing this valuable gift, Patrick and his wife Sarah returned to Holy Trinity in September 2018. The personal bond that has been forged between the Sserunjogis, Namungo Village and Holy Trinity parishioners has continued to grow, as have our efforts to meet their most dire needs. Holy Trinity and its ministries have now funded a total of four wells.

The global pandemic created a critical food shortage in Namungo, as it did elsewhere. With additional support from the Glanton Trust, Holy Trinity sent $9,000 to purchase and distribute food in this area of Uganda. We also provided funds to prepare land and buy plants so the people in the village could have community gardens. Today the gardens provide food, a source of income when there is extra produce, day labor in the preparation and transportation, and a source of seeds for future planting. They are growing cabbage, beans, tomatoes, a version of sweet potatoes, maize, and bananas. We have also provided funds to contribute towards the purchase of land for a community center and health clinic.

Holy Trinity’s Mission Trip to Namungo Village

A group of parishioners will travel to Namungo Village in Uganda, May 24–June 2, 2024. The team seeks to build relationships within the community and plans to meet with elders to learn the specific needs of the village. They will observe the operation of water wells and their impact on Namungo families. The team will bring sports and hygiene items, put on a mini Vacation Bible School and build latrines for the elderly. The Mission team—Joe and Shelley Aistrup, Robin and Steve Duke, Bob Karcher, Christine Mercer, Will and Lila Meadows, and Morgan Watkins—seeks prayer partners for the trip. If interested, please email robin.duke4@gmail.com.

Relational Mission