Cafe Chaplains

with St. Paul's Cathedral, Des Moines

The Bridge Board churches in downtown Des Moines, which includes St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, have been providing free lunches to the homeless and needy for 20 years. The current demand is over 40,000 meals each year. But the only spiritual offering along with the meal is a group prayer before lunch is served. Our volunteers have found that some guests value having someone to pray with them, and this is an under-served population because poverty is a deterrent to normal church participation for many. Offering spiritual ministry at a church-supported food ministry is the gap we hope to fill by making ecumenical volunteer chaplains available for personal prayers, blessings or conversations for most of the days meals are served. St Paul’s will work with the Bridge Board to set credential requirements, mindful that suitable training and qualifications are needed. Grant funds will be used to pay for staff time to recruit and organize clergy or lay ministers to be available to guests, purchase printed materials for marketing, fund training needs, and implement evaluation methods.

Prayer Garden

at St. John's, Shenandoah

At St. John’s Episcopal Church in Shenandoah Iowa, we have a small back yard that serves no purpose other than exercise for whoever mows it. We have been talking for years about doing something with the empty space, and received the inspiration needed during a recent RMI (Regional Mission Initiative) gathering that focused on “Listening to Your Neighborhood.” As the group brought forth ideas of how to engage and listen to their neighbors, we were captivated by the idea of offering prayer flags to the community that would help us identify what the pulse of the community might be. We plan to provide a prayer garden for the neighborhood/community to enjoy and use for reflection and prayer, bringing a sacred space out of the walls of the building, to the people. As we establish this garden we will walk through the neighborhood getting to know our neighbors, inviting them to contribute to the garden as they divide their plants, and encourage them to add their concerns, joys, longings and losses to the prayer flags. The garden is a low barrier way to pray without the awkwardness of walking into the church for the first time on a Sunday morning, especially for those who feel that church is not a safe place. The garden will be circular, planted with a variety of native (to Iowa) plants, grasses, and pollinators and include a bench for people to sit on to enjoy, pray, and reflect. We will provide materials for prayer flags (strips of fabric and markers) and a structure to tie them on. The space will be accessible to all by providing a sidewalk that will extend from the existing sidewalk to the garden and around the garden. Grant funds will be used largely for concrete (to build the accessible sidewalk), along with other needed materials and signage for the garden.

Pride Ministry

with St. Timothy's, West Des Moines

St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church is launching an expanded ministry of inclusion and public witness, centered on deepening its engagement with the LGBTQIA+ community in the Greater Des Moines area. Last year, St. Timothy’s elected to join the Rainbow Faith Coalition, which fosters relationships between LGBTQ-affirming faith communities and collaborates with the LGBTQ community as partners for justice and equality. The coalition comprises over 20 congregations from diverse denominations. We also joined and became an active team in the diocese’s Episco-PRIDE ministry, participating in Pridefest 2025 for the first time by volunteering in the diocese’s booth and having members of our congregation march in the parade. To further spread the word that we are dedicated to full inclusion and equality in society as a whole, as well as within our faith community, we discerned that we need to prioritize our Pride ministry and have a greater presence at future community events. St. Timothy’s plans to increase its participation in LGBTQIA+ events in the Greater Des Moines area, including PrideFest, Valley Junction Pride!, and future Rainbow Faith Coalition activities. Through our presence at these events, we will demonstrate our belief that Christianity is an inclusive religion, where we love all our neighbors as ourselves, and express our commitment to full inclusion and equality in our church and society as a whole. Grant funds will be used to offset the costs associated with participating in various events over the next two years, including event fees, branded infrastructure for a booth (i.e. a canopy, vertical banner, and table cover), customized items to hand out at events, and t-shirts for our volunteers.