Outreach
A foundational conviction at Church of the Pilgrims is that God gathers us together as a community of faith in order to send us back out into the world as the Body of Christ, engaging in acts of compassion, and joining others in the struggle for justice and peace. God not only calls us as individuals, but as an entire community, to be part of something bigger than we are.
Open Table
Since the mid-1980s, Open Table has offered lunch to the Dupont Circle area homeless and poor on Sunday afternoons. From 1:00-1:30 PM, we serve a simple meal and provide a sack lunch. In addition to simply giving a meal, we provide our guests with welcome, respect, and a safe space. Open Table is a community effort. Our volunteer cooks and servers are a blend of Church of the Pilgrims members, including families with young children, and other service-minded individuals in the community.
Lunch is served on Sundays from 1-1:30pm and is accessible through the garden on 23rd Street, behind the sanctuary.
During the pandemic, we have adapted our practices to keep volunteers and guests safe while still providing a weekly meal:
We provide bag lunches with two sandwiches (instead of the usual 1 sandwich), yogurts and granola bars plus coffee, iced tea and water. We are not providing a hot meal at this time.
Bagged lunches and drinks are placed on the tables on the porch and our guests serve themselves and generally eat their meals at the picnic tables in the garden.
All volunteers wear masks, gloves.
We are not able to provide restroom access at this time.
We do provide a charging station outside.
If you would like to volunteer to serve lunch or have other questions, contact pilgrims@churchofthepilgrims.org.
Washington Interfaith Network (WIN)
As a sign of re-birth and renewal, Pilgrims has recently rejoined and reinvigorated our role with WIN, the Washington Interfaith Network. WIN is a broad-based, multi-racial, multi-faith, strictly non-partisan, District-wide citizens’ power organization, rooted in local congregations and associations. WIN is committed to training and developing neighborhood leaders, to addressing community issues, and to holding elected and corporate officials accountable in Washington, DC. We look forward to exploring ways we can become more active in this influential and socially aligned organization.
The Pilgrimage
Before its closing in 2020, The Pilgrimage was the principal outreach ministry of Church of the Pilgrims. Set up like a hostel, The Pilgrimage welcomed groups up to 40 people and put people into contact with the poor and low income of Washington, DC through experiential learning projects.
Sacred Greens
Sacred Greens is Pilgrims urban garden, created to provide healthy, organic produce for Open Table meals. As an Earth-honoring faith initiative, Sacred Greens thrives with volunteers from Pilgrims who design the produce layout, cultivate the soil, plant, water, and harvest.
Capital Pride
On the second weekend in June, the Capital Pride Parade ends a block away from the front steps of Church of the Pilgrims. Each year, we open our doors for inclusive bathrooms, water, and our air-conditioned sanctuary. Hundreds of Pride-goers come through our doors and Pilgrims is honored to offer hospitality to all those giving witness to the prideful spirit of Washington, DC's LGBTQ community.