Thirty-nine years ago, Helen Martien, with the support of the Rev. Philip Roulette and some other parishioners at St. John’s, made some sandwiches and began taking them to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church to help a twice-weekly soup kitchen in the Pigtown neighborhood get started. The ministry grew to include an overnight shelter, a summer camp for children, a nursing clinic and eventually a new home on 1118 Ward St., adjacent to the community health clinic. And, the programs expanded to include social services, recovery groups, housing efforts, school and after-school programs, computer classes, a marketplace to shop for clothes and a Christmas store. Summer camp continues every year at St. John’s. We collect clothes and food. We continue to cook for the daily meal program. We support their choir program, Voices Rise, with our Music Director, Ben Buchanan. Before the coronavirus there were over 30 programs. During the pandemic they continue to provide Grab N Go lunches, case management, emergency food boxes, mail services, nurses’ clinics, and the marketplace. Melanie Heacock is our St. John’s liaison.