History:
Christ Episcopal Church in Biddeford was established in 1869 to meet the spiritual needs of the workers that migrated from England to work in the mills. From that time forward, Christ Church has been a working class faith community committed to feeding all aspects of the lives of Biddeford residents.
Since the mills moved south, Christ Church has fluctuated in membership. There was even talk of closing its doors at one time. But the spirit of the place has refused to allow that to happen. The parish was convinced that it had a special purpose in Biddeford, to give witness to God’s love and to serve those in need in the community. In 2008 Christ Church committed to furthering its mission in a collaborative outreach initiative with other churches and community organizations including:
- Christ Episcopal Church in Biddeford
- In-A-Pinch Non-food Essentials Pantry,
- St. David’s Episcopal Church of Kennebunk,
- St. Andre’s Nursing Home,
- the Biddeford Chapter of T.O.P.S.,
- Career Center Services of York County,
- City of Biddeford - CDBG grant recipient
- Goodwill Workforce Solutions
- Coastal Healthy Communities Coalition
- St. Ann's Episcopal Church of Kennebunkport
- Union Church at Biddeford Pool
In June 2008, Christ Church applied to the national Episcopal Church’s Jubilee Ministries office to become Maine’s second Jubilee Ministry site. Jubilee Ministries offer "a ministry of joint discipleship in Christ with poor and oppressed people, wherever they are found, to meet basic human needs and to build a just society" (General Convention Resolution 1982-A080).
The collaborative opened a drop-in center in September 2008, naming it the Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center. With our combined resources and experience, we have formed a fierce vision of justice and compassion which achieved validation in late October 2008 when the Diocesan Convention approved Seeds of Hope as a Jubilee Ministry Center. We are so proud that our efforts have been deemed consistent with the mission of the Jubilee efforts nationwide.
Although the parent organization is Christ Church, the Seed of Hope Neighborhood Center is non-sectarian and open to all people regardless of faith.