Strengthening existing bonds in the community and creating new ones are the goals of Community Lunches at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Jackson.

The church, located at 5400 Old Canton Road, held its first Community Lunch March 22 with representatives from nearby homeowners’ associations, Temple Beth Israel, Christ United Church, New Jerusalem Church, the Jackson Police Department and city and county officials.

“We’ve recently celebrated our 60th anniversary at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church,” says William Burke, the church’s senior warden. “We’ve witnessed a lot of change in Jackson since we first purchased our property at Old Canton and Westbrook Road, and we see the needs of our community changing.”

Christy Dunaway, outreach chair for the parish, said building and strengthening connections through communication is the goal of the luncheons, which will be held quarterly.

“Communication with one another and making connections with one another is vital to ensuring that we get to know our community better,” says Dunaway. “That way, we can all work together to ensure that we all thrive.”

The goal is to build community in St. Philip’s area by providing a space to meet, a good lunch and the opportunity to share interests, make connections, and share contact information.

“We want to offer a forum and a space to open lines of communication,” she says. “We intend to make this a regular event, hoping over time to reach a large number of people with interests in our area, including homeowners’ association, local service organizations, local churches and faith-based organizations, city and county officials and local community organizations seeking to serve Northeast Jackson.”

St. Philip’s can be reached at 601-956-5788 and is online at stphilipsjackson.com.