Outreach

Mission Statement

We are St. John’s United Church, a member of God’s loving family.
We are called to be a caring people, reaching out to each other, our neighbours, and all God’s people.
We are committed to nurturing our Christian faith through worship, study, fellowship and service.
We are striving to exemplify the life and the love of Jesus Christ..

Mamow sha-way-gi-kay-win (North-South Partnership for Children)

This is a dynamic and evolving partnership that began in 2006 as the coming together of the First Nations chiefs, Elders and youth living in remote communities in northwestern Ontario with caring individuals and voluntary organizations based in southern Ontario.

The Power of One is presenting this as an ongoing project to support these remote communities of First Nation Canadians. Initially we would like to collect the needed items listed below and funds to help pay for shipping which is very expensive. Eventually our hopes are that we could partner with one specific community and connect through pictures, e-mail, facebook and even possibly working and training visits.

There is a bin in the lobby of St. John’s to receive any of the following items. If you would like to make a monetary donation please make your check out to St. John’s United Church and mark it North-South Partnership for Children. Thank you for your support. St. John’s has shown they are a caring community and reach out to our neighbours and all God’s people.

Stephen Lewis Foundation – (One Million or More)
We are excited to be part of the large community-wide outreach campaign launched by the Town of Oakville to support the Stephen Lewis Foundation in its fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. They have pledged to send One Million or More to this fund by World AIDS Day 2009. Our Time, Talent and Treasure Auction, with many donations from, and purchases by, the congregation and community, raised a total of $12,615.00 for this worthy cause.

Canadian Foodgrains Bank – (Make Hunger History)
In cooperation with our partner, Bethesda Lutheran Church in Markham, we are a strong supporter of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Over each of the past three years, our congregation contributed $10,000.00. By the time the excellent crop was grown and CIDA of the Canadian government had quadrupled the amount, it resulted in a contribution of $150,000.00 to world food aid!

Malawi – (Hands and Hearts for Africa)
Members of our congregation have travelled to Malawi to do some hands-on work with those in need, and to find out first-hand what St. John’s could do to help. They have taken many items with them, such as health materials and dolls knitted by members of our congregation.

Habitat for Humanity
Members of St. John’s are active supporters of Habitat for Humanity. They take part in builds, provide lunches for the volunteers and work on the salvage teams that remove reusable items from houses being renovated or torn down. These items are then sold in Habitat’s ReStore to totally offset the overhead of the affiliate. On June 7, 2009, Susan Goetz, a member of Habitat Halton’s Board of Directors, provided us with an overview of their new program called ReNew It. Instead of building a home from scratch, this initiative helps to renew old homes for seniors or people with disabilities.

Kerr Street Ministries
We support Kerr Street Ministries through donations to their food bank (including a Product of the Month), four dinners during the year, a BBQ held by the Kerr Street Community, a sock and mitten tree at Christmas and by providing support for their Dream Centre.

Other Projects

Other outreach projects of St. Johns have included:

  • Support of a child overseas by The Lunch Bucket Club.
  • Support of needy families at Christmas by the youth.
  • Oakville-Wide Youth Services which reaches out to all the youth in the area.
  • Recycling of cell phones, Campbell soup labels, pop tabs, stamps, Canadian Tire Money, eye glasses and printer cartridges.
  • Support of Lake Scugog Camp ($750).
  • Support for two of our youth to attend Christian Leadership Camp to prepare them to be our leaders of the future!
  • Support of a candidate for the ministry through the Halton Presbytery Bursary fund
  • Support of The Jim Campbell Preaching Workshop.