Serving the Lord throughout Central Florida: Brotherhood of St. Andrew’s helping hand reaches far andApril 3, 2017 • Jeff Gardenour  • DIOCESAN FAMILY

The homeless come from all over Central Florida to accept the kindness and generosity of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew.

For church leaders like the Rev. Ed Bartle, associate rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church in The Villages, making the weekly 40-mile trip to St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Ocala to feed the homeless satisfies one of the three disciplines of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew: service.

“We’ve been volunteering on a weekly basis in the soup kitchen at St. Patrick’s,” Bartle said. “(They) feed the homeless five days per week. (St. Patrick’s) has some other great ideas about helping the homeless in the Ocala National Forest.”

As the diocesan coordinator for the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, Bartle stays active in helping others. He and approximately 11 others recently held an informal meeting at Camp Wingmann in Avon Park. Bartle said about six chapters of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew were represented.

“We started making preparations for the regional meeting,” Bartle said. “We talked about the soup kitchen, and we got some things lined up. We’d like to put out a diocesan newsletter (for the Brotherhood of St. Andrew).”

The group also discussed one of the building projects at Camp Wingmann, a massive 42-acre, year-round retreat center known for its annual summer youth camp and other diocesan youth events. “One of the chapters is building an outdoor chapel,” Bartle said.

Bartle hopes his Brotherhood of St. Andrew chapter at St. George’s can assist in the completion of the chapel and other things sometime in May as part of the fifth annual National Day of Service. The Brotherhood of St. Andrew’s National Day of Service is officially scheduled for April 29, but because of time constraints St. George’s chapter is scheduling its community service project for May.

“Basically, all the chapters get together and do some project in the community,” said Bartle about the National Day of Service. “We’ll go out to Camp Wingmann and help (the Rev. and Camp Director) Deke Miller. I’m sure he has some things we can do … general maintenance around the camp and so forth.”

For more information on the Brotherhood of St. Andrew or to assist a local chapter on the National Day of Service, call Bartle at 352-750-1010.