Mission Commission Report

In 2022 the St. John’s Mission Commission contributed to the following organizations:

$18,000 toward the construction of a guest house in the mountains, where increasing numbers of youth groups and others retreat for safety and spiritual renewal in a country in chaos.

Ministries and Organizations Supported in 2020

American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (AFEDJ)

AFEDJ is a US organization that supports the ministries of the Diocese in Israel/Palestine, Syria and Jordan. Over the years we have sent financial support, and especially for their hospitals and clinics all over the West Bank and Gaza Strip.  Several members of St. John’s visited Jerusalem and the Holy Land in 2018 and were able to meet the Archbishop and learn more about their hospitals, clinics and schools. Most recently we have contributed for All Saints Episcopal Church, Beirut, that was less than a mile from the July port explosions.

Visit AFEDJ's Website

Baltimore Child Abuse Center (BCAC)

BCAC serves 200 families a month, mostly through police referrals. As the numbers served has increased during COVID-19, so has the need. Lifebridge Hospital System, with whom we have collaborated during this pandemic, is a BCAC partner. Our support has been for supplies for children going back to school or virtual school. Our liaison is Diane Katlic.

Visit BCAC's Website

Canned Goods and Toiletries Drive

to support St. Joseph’s food distribution program to the needy in Cockeysville, MD.  We began the first of what may become many drives to supply local food distribution ministries to get emergency food to those in need during the pandemic.

Episcopal Diocese of Navajoland for COVID-19 crises support

We were able to raise a significant amount of money to help with emergency health care and support in this hard-hit Indian Reservation that is an important part of the Episcopal family. 

Episcopal Diocese of Navajoland

Hope Academy of Huber Memorial Church

We provided funds to supply Chrome book computers to grades K-5 for in-the-city students for virtual learning during the Coronavirus pandemic.  Our liaison is Judd Anderson. 

Hope Academy

The Samaritan Women

The Samaritan Women is a Baltimore-based anti-trafficking program for women, is designed to support women recovering from being trafficked. Two years ago they launched the Institute for Shelter Care, a national initiative to train and equip new shelter homes across the country. St. John’s has conducted an awareness campaign related to human trafficking and The Samaritan Women particularly  and financially supported their efforts.

The Samaritan Women

Sarah’s Hope

Sarah’s Hope at Hannah Moore is a family homeless shelter in Reisterstown supported by St. Vincent de Paul.  We were just beginning a relationship with them preparing baskets for “new home going away gifts” for those able to leave the shelter when the Coronavirus hit.  We hope to continue our relationship with them when they are able to open again.

Virtual Chaplaincy Program at Life Bridge Hospitals

Virtual Chaplaincy Program at Life Bridge Hospitals was a one-time effort, working through their Care Bravely Compassion Fund of the Lifebridge Hospital System, to provide 50 ipads for chaplains in their hospitals as the Coronavirus pandemic was beginning to hit the Baltimore area.  We joined with other churches and organizations to make this one-time, in-kind effort possible. 

Other Ministries and Organizations Supported in the Recent Past

ERICA – Episcopal Relief and Immigrant Center Alliance is a ministry housed in the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Baltimore that welcomes those fleeing injustice, persecution and unrest in other countries.  With partners and community partners, they serve refugees, asylum seekers and other vulnerable immigrants in greater Baltimore to rebuild their lives through one-on-one problem solving, emergency assistance and education workshops.  We have supported their work financially.

The Family Tree is a not-for-profit in Baltimore City that has strong programs to help raise up families. Their programs range from child-care training to child abuse prevention, from Parents Anonymous to a new technology initiative, offering support to families through Live Chat, Blogs, Webinars and Virtual Classes.  St. John’s has support Family Tree financially.

Gilead House for Refugees, a project of ERICA that involved the renovation of a house on the property of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Pikesville was the recipient of a financial contribution to make this home available to refugee families.

Holy Casseroley with Har Sinai Synagogue was a yearly event involving hundreds of folks from our congregation and the Har Sinai congregation in an afternoon cooking event that produced hundreds of casseroles for Paul’s Place ministry to the hungry and homeless.  We enjoyed great relationships and had so much fun.  Because Har Sinai congregation merged with Oheb Shalom, followed by the pandemic, we have not yet been able to resurrect this project.  Our past support has been financial and highly participatory.

Institute for Christian, Jewish and Muslim Studies (ICJS) is a not-for-profit organization in Towson, MD.  Scholars and participants come from Christians, Muslims and Jews.  Their mission is to build learning communities wherein religious difference becomes a powerful tool for good.  Their hope is to make Baltimore a model interreligious city.  Our contributions have been mostly financial, with some participation.

Ochan Self Help Alliance in Opac Village in Northern Uganda – For over ten years, St. John’s supported the efforts of people who had returned to their ancestral village after the civil war in their country had stopped.  Our support was for agricultural projects, water systems, schools and books, a health clinic, a clinic maternity and infant care program and ambulance/transportation for the sick.

Massai Good Salvage in Kenya is a ministry introduced to us by Chief Joseph, their titular head.  We have supported women’s business with contributions for crafts and more recently scholarships for young woman and mosquito netting and mattresses for their boarding school for girls and women.  Our liaison for this program is Marilyn Patterson, who spent two weeks with Chief Joseph in 2018.