2022 Grant Recipient for the Week of August 28: St. Ann's Church of Morrisania


Named in honor of St. Ann, the grandmother of Jesus, as well as of its founder, who was the son of Gouverneur Morris, known as the “Penman of the Constitution,” for having put the United States Constitution into words, St. Ann’s Church has been serving God and the South Bronx since 1841. This historically rich landmark is the oldest continuously used church in that borough, founded at a time when the entire South Bronx was called “Morrisania,” and when its neighborhood location was renamed “Mott Haven,” after its sale to J.L. Mott.

St. Ann’s is now a vibrant, socially progressive, and theologically liberal community, committed to loving and serving across all barriers, and to providing nourishing food and a welcoming community for more than 7,000 people each month through its various feeding programs. Where many Mott Haven households struggle to survive on incomes of less than $10,000 per year, food from St. Ann’s helps families to be well fed and healthy. The community’s homeless people receive meals at the church’s Sunday soup kitchen and from its weekday food pantry. While everyday clothing is accepted from both within the neighborhood, as well as from other places for distribution to those who need them, those who lack proper attire for a job interview can leave with a nice new outfit acquired from the church’s Interview Clothing, which is available on Tuesdays.

During the school year, St. Ann’s celebrated After-School program, made famous by Jonathan Kozol’s books Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation, and Ordinary Resurrections: Children in the Years of Hope, accepts public school children between the ages of 5-13. A Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School, whose curriculum is designed to teach children to love reading and to develop community awareness and leadership skills, takes place for 6 weeks in the summer.

We are grateful to the Vestry for its approval of a grant to St. Ann’s Church of Morrisania, which continues to extend graciousness, hospitality, and God’s love in the heart of the South Bronx.