Local Mission

At the nearby Emergency Overflow Shelter, Westminster volunteers have been welcoming guests and providing hot meals since its inception in 2001. On Sundays during the season – from November through April – Westminster volunteers prepare and deliver nutritious meals for shelter guests.
Contact us to learn more.

Volunteer to help improve the lives of homeless families and children living at Schuyler Inn in Menands. Volunteers join in activities such as: 

• Warm winter gear distribution and celebration events
• Provision of essential feminine hygiene products
• Book distribution events

Contact us to learn more.

(Winter & Summer Programs)

The FOCUS Breakfast Program, also known as the Breakfast Club, opened at Westminster in 1984 with a winter time offering. It was soon expanded to meet the guests’ need for a year-round program. The Breakfast Program served over 25,000 breakfasts and bag lunches to guests in 2024 alone. Doors open at 7:00 am and guests enjoy a hot breakfast (cold in the warmer months), warm hospitality, and a brief respite from the outside elements. Each guest leaves with a lunch to go. Breakfast guests are all ages, although the great majority are adults and seniors.

Breakfast is staffed by volunteers who prepare food, serve, clean-up, and prepare for the next day’s meal. The volunteers’ biggest contribution is creating welcoming atmosphere for all guests. A “good morning, welcome, what would you like to eat” makes all difference to individuals that remain invisible to so many.

Volunteers are needed for a range of time. Cooks arrive shortly before 6:00 am during the winter season. All other volunteers arrive between 6:30– 6:45 am to help set up before opening at 7:00 am. When breakfast closes at 8:30 am, volunteers may stay until 9:00 to help clean up. Shifts are arranged to accommodate work schedules and personal commitments. Volunteers include college students, as well as currently employed and retired individuals. Volunteers leave each day with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment from assisting the guests. If you would like to volunteer, please call the FOCUS office at 518-443-0460 ext. 2 or email Belinda at [email protected].

The FOCUS Interfaith Food Pantry has responded to the critical food insecurity within our immediate community since it opened in 1976. They provide families from the Capitol Hill, Center Square, Hudson Park, Washington Park, and Park South neighborhoods with a several-day supply of food. Numerous economic factors impacting our communities have contributed to continued, unprecedented demand for services. In 2024, the FOCUS Interfaith Food Pantry served 4,190 households and 10,097 individuals, providing 195,222 meals, a 44% increase from the previous year. High-quality foods, including Halal foods and fresh produce, are made available to meet the needs of the community accessing services.

The Interfaith Food Pantry is located at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 275 State Street (five days a week and one Saturday each month). Volunteers are needed for several positions, including guest check-in and packing groceries. Please get in touch with Belinda at the FOCUS office at 518-433-0460, extension 2, if you are interested in helping.

Each spring, Westminster organizes a team to participate in the CROP Hunger Walk sponsored by Church World Service to end hunger at home and around the world. Participants raise money and many also join in the community walk.
Contact us to learn more.

Help Children Learn

Support children in the South End of Albany by volunteering with Wizard’s Wardrobe – an after-school program founded by our friends at First Presbyterian Church. The program provides free, one-on-one tutoring to elementary students in the South End. Training is provided for volunteers.

Please consider giving some of your time to this worthwhile endeavor. Contact us to learn more.

Westminster holds a public Vigil for Racial Justice on Tuesdays, 12 noon – 1:00 pm on State Street in front of the church. You are invited to come join us – pray; hold signs; and witness the need for racial justice in our city, our country, and our world.

A leader starts each Vigil with prayer. The remainder of the time, participants display signs to pray for justice. Bring a sign along with wording of your choice, if you are able. 

Read Westminster’s Statement of Solidarity and Call to Action here

For more information, please read our blog articles about the: “Vigil for Racial Justice“

When the U.S. ended its twenty-year war in Afghanistan in August 2021, we learned that at least 100 evacuees would be resettled in Albany. By February 2022, over 400 evacuees had arrived in our city. A group of Westminster members and friends heard God’s call to respond with immediate aid and long-term friendship. We formed a Good Neighbor Team in partnership with our local resettlement agency, USCRI (https://refugees.org/uscri-albany/) and were matched with a wonderful family. If you’re interested in hearing more about our work or would like to join our team, email [email protected].

In addition to our weekly Racial Justice Vigil, members of the Westminster community at times join in public demonstrations of support for issues we believe to be important. In 2021, for example, a group of us joined in several different events related to climate change and environmental justice and a large witness against anti-Asian violence. When events occur, we usually mobilize through the Westminster email group. You can sign up to be on our mailing list here: Contact Us.