This Easter, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is seeking to erase medical debt in St. Louis County.
In 1881, St. Paul’s founded St. Luke’s hospital to respond to a typhoid epidemic. At the time, it was very important that this hospital serve those who both could and could not pay. Now, St. Paul’s hopes to support the health of our community by working to abolish medical debt. By working with Undue Medical Debt, St. Paul’s hopes to abolish as much medical debt in the Twin Ports as possible. The church will be taking a special offering on Easter Sunday, April 5, with a goal of raising $20,000. With Undue’s expertise in abolishing medical debt, it is possible that this $20,000 could abolish up to 2.5 million dollars in medical debt for families in Duluth and beyond.
This link takes you to our online giving portal, where you can give to this initiative.
This fall, St. Paul’s began an ambitious capital project to restore our historic building. We successfully raised 1.8 million dollars for this purpose. During the campaign, the church decided that it was critical to help others at the same time as we helped ourselves. This is a special thanksgiving offering that we hope will change lives and help families with critical debt relief.
How It Works
Defaulted debt is often sold by hospitals to debt collectors for pennies on the dollar. Undue uses donations to purchase this debt on the market, and rather than collecting the debt, they erase it. On average, $10 given to Undue can abolish $1000 of debt. Undue can help us purchase and erase debt here in St. Louis County. In this county alone, we can erase $2.36 million of medical debt for $16,700—less than 1% of what was pledged to repair our own building.
From Pastor Maggie
“In divisive and difficult times, when it is unclear where to start, how to help, or how to find common ground, I look to Jesus’ ministry to understand where to begin. Jesus often did not take on ‘the powers that be’ directly. He looked to healing people, helping people, and setting them free from that which crushed them. No one chooses to go into medical debt, and it is an enormous burden, effecting people across age, race, ethnicity, politics, immigration status, and gender. It frequently leads to homelessness and compounding health crises, as people stop seeking care. By giving to this initiative, you and I have the opportunity to help families who need critical relief right now.”
To participate or give, join us at 8 am or 10 am on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026. You can also make a donation through our online giving portal by selecting “Undue Medical Debt”.