Holy Comforter Friendship Center

About the Site

Located in Southeast Atlanta, Holy Comforter is a parish in which people living with multiple and complex needs are integral to parish life. Approximately 60% of the congregation’s membership live with mental illness or a diagnosed condition that has a direct impact on their participation in mainstream society. Many are sustained through various social supports. The congregation’s racial makeup is approximately half African American and half European American.

The community gathers throughout the week: Tuesdays and Thursdays for the Friendship Center programming, Wednesdays for Evening Prayer and reflection time followed by a community supper, and Sundays for Holy Eucharist followed by a community lunch. The parish also offers pastoral care, transportation assistance, a working garden, an arts program, various health initiatives, and periodic special activities and outings for participants.

The Friendship Center, while a ministry born out of Holy Comforter and still housed on its campus, maintains its own dedicated staff and program structure. Today we serve approximately 65 participants each program day, offering gardening work and education, peer-led wellness and recovery programs, a recovery-through-the-arts studio, and shared meals — all held together by the same core conviction that shaped its founding: that every person has inherent dignity, gifts, and a place in community.

Site Mission

Holy Comforter and the Friendship Center exist to cultivate communities of belonging where every person is seen, known, and loved as a child of God. Through worship, friendship, healing, and practical care, we protect human dignity, nurture vocation, and bear witness to the Kingdom of God among those the world too often forgets.

Faculty

Professor of New Testament Walter T. Wilson will be the faculty co-leader of the spring 2027 integrative seminar for Holy Comforter Friendship Center students.

Teaching and Site Supervisor

Matt Babcock serves as the Vicar of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter. He began his ministry with Holy Comforter on August 11, 2025. Matt was raised in central Louisiana and graduated from Louisiana Tech University in 2007, earning a BS in Agricultural Business. Following undergraduate studies, he moved to North Carolina, where he was introduced to the Episcopal Church. What began as volunteer service in a food pantry led to a rediscovery of the presence of God through the fruits of a community with a shared vision to live the Gospel. Serving alongside parishioners seeking to restore the dignity of God’s creation eventually led Matt to explore a desire to foster communities of love as he discerned his own call to ordained ministry. He graduated in 2019 from Yale Divinity School, having earned a Master of Divinity degree; he also earned a Diploma in Anglican Studies from Berkeley Divinity School. Since seminary training, Matt has served in various positions in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, the Diocese of Chicago, and the Diocese of Atlanta. ​He is a Trinity Leadership Fellow and is currently pursuing a Doctor in Ministry at Candler School of Theology.

Con Ed I Student Requirements for Holy Comforter Friendship Center

Site work at Holy Comforter Friendship Center will be in person and may include weekend hours, as well as some community events.

Students will establish leadership in the provision of pastoral care and will also have opportunities to lead and plan worship, visit parishioners in group homes and personal care homes, and build relationships with parishioners through participation in Friendship Center programming — including the garden, the arts studio, and wellness and recovery groups. The clergy-to-parishioner ratio at Holy Comforter remains limited, with the Vicar balancing pastoral care and the administrative demands of leading both the parish and the Friendship Center.

• Con Ed I at Holy Comforter Friendship Center also includes a fall semester on-site reflection group, led by Rev. Matt Babcock, and a spring semester integrative seminar.
• Students who enroll in Holy Comforter Friendship Center as their Con Ed I selection are strongly encouraged to also enroll in the Intro to Pastoral Care course during their first academic year.

Additional Requirements & Accessibility

This site is accessible to those with mobility issues. A COVID-19 vaccine is no longer required for students serving at this site however it is strongly recommended. Although not required, students are strongly encouraged to remain up-to-date on vaccinations and receive an annual flu shot.