'For
I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,
I was thirsty and
you gave me something to drink, I was
a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you
clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison
and you came to visit me.'
"Then
the righteous will answer him,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry
and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to
drink?
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing
clothes
and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and
go to visit you?'
"The
King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one
of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew
25:35-40
Missions
at St. John's
St. John’s vision is to be a beacon of faith
and service reflecting Christ’s love to the world. One
of our priorities that support this vision is to provide more
local, national and global mission opportunities to support and
serve our hurting brothers and sisters. Here are just a few of
the ways St. John's helps -
Locally:
•
For the past two years St. John’s has held a “Be
the Church” day where the entire congregation has gone
into the community to serve and collect food.
In 2010 our “Be
the Church” event will be on April 25th.
• We contribute food, school supplies, Christmas gifts and cash
to the Glen-Ed Pantry.
• We also encourage volunteers for Faith in Action, which provides
assistance to elderly and shut-in members of the community.
Nationally:
•
Each year St. John’s sponsors mission trips to needy areas
in the United States. There is a youth/adult trip in July and
a College age/Adult trip in the spring or fall.
In 2010 the youth/adult
trip will be July 25-31.
Globally:
•
We participate in the "Offering of Letters", where
we write to Congress in support of policies to help end hunger.
• We collect for Heifer International (www.heifer.org) by distributing
coin banks to our Sunday school classes. Heifer raises funds
to provide farm animals to poor people in the U.S and worldwide.
•
In 2009, St. John’s collected over $1,100 during Vacation
Bible School to buy solar cookers for victims in refugee camps
in Chad.
•
In 2010, St. John’s will begin looking for opportunities
to help the people of Ghana.
• The United Methodist Women invite our members to provide warm
blankets for people around the world with a special gift to the
Church World Service Blanket Program.
• Operation Christmas Child delivers millions of gift-filled shoe
boxes to hurting children around the world. Our church supports
this mission by filling shoe boxes with toys, school supplies,
hygiene items and other presents in time for the Christmas holidays.
For more information visit www.samaritanspurse.org.
Special Offerings:
As a church, we support the worldwide mission of the United Methodist
Church through 6 special offerings:
• Human Relations Day: This offering strengthens outreach to communities
in the United States and Puerto Rico and encourages social justice
and work with at-risk youth.
• One Great Hour of Sharing: This offering enables the United Methodist
Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to live out its mission to alleviate
human suffering. UMCOR responds to natural or human made disasters
- those interruptions of such magnitude that they overwhelm a
community's ability to recover on its own.
• Native American Ministries: This offering educates Native American
seminarians, plants Native American churches and cultivates Native
American outreach.
•
Peace with Justice: This offering empowers United Methodists
to work for peace, love and compassion for God’s children
everywhere.
• World Communion Day: This offering provides college scholarships
for racial- and ethnic-minority students in the United States
and for international students.
• United Methodist Student Day: This offering provides scholarships
and loans to deserving United Methodist students.
