St. John's Outreach programs focus on needs of our neighborhood of West Hartford and Hartford. This includes the use of our building to help serve some of those needs, as well as activities/projects to involve members of the parish. Increased involvement of parishioners in projects is needed. The committee is always looking for new opportunities. Possibilities could be establishing a "Needs Bank" which parishioners would contact when they are looking for volunteer opportunities, or exploring the option of increased interactions with St. James Church (Zion Street in Hartford). New ideas and members are needed. Please contact us! Individuals are welcome to participate in a single event if they have a special interest or if they do not feel they have time available to become a committee member.
A typical year's activities for the Outreach Committee members include allocating small grant funding to local organizations, selecting a recipient for one larger grant, and specific programs geared to supporting our immediate neighbors and struggling families.
Small Grants
The committee members annually decide on support levels for applicant organizations that serve people in our community by giving grants usually ranging from $500 to $2,500. The budget for this program is always spent in full, as needs are greater than available funds. A small amount of funding for small grants is held in reserve for special needs at the end of the year or for emergencies during the year.
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
ESOL, begun in 1998, is a groundbreaking cooperative effort between the parish and West Hartford Continuing Education. The parish's participation allows people in our neighborhood, who are residents of Hartford, to participate in the program. The parish partially funds the program, participants pay a small fee, and the parish offers its facilities free of charge for these classes. The program consists of two semesters with Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced levels as well as a summer session to assist with Citizenship classes. Volunteers from the parish are also involved.
Support for Struggling Families
Christmas Bags for Nurturing Families CT (VNA Healthcare). Another annual opportunity for parishioners to fulfill physical needs of families at risk. Parishioners select a bag listing particular items needed by that family. Typically 80-100 bags are filled.
Easter Baskets at Hospital for Children with Special Needs. This annual project allows the parish to be sure that children who are cognitively or physically challenged are not forgotten. They receive delightful, healthy, Easter baskets.
Clothing Collections. The church sponsors collection boxes on its premises for winter coats and clothing, and for personal items needed throughout the year, for homeless or needy people.
See also Meals on Wheels and Loaves & Fishes activities described in the Parish Life section.
The parish is considering other opportunities for significant involvement in our community.
GLOBAL MISSION
The Global Mission Committee was established at the annual meeting in January of 1999, to review ways to support those outside our community. The committee meets monthly with the exception of July and August. The committee is active in CMC (Companions in Mission Committee), a Diocesan organization focusing on non-US communities and their needs, often in the Caribbean. St. John's has a Companion Relationship with Santa Cruz del Norté as a result of a trip to Cuba by parishioners in 2002, and a relationship with Saint Sauveur Church and School in Les Cayes, Haiti.
Haiti - In March, 2003, Patti Lynn O'Brien, a St. John’s parishioner with terminal cancer, attended the Haiti Connection in Port au Prince, Haiti. While on a field trip from that meeting, she committed personally to funding the building of the Saint Sauveur School in Les Cayes, Haiti, responding to an appeal from Father Kenol Rock, the priest at Saint Sauveur. Patti Lynn returned from Haiti with an agenda that included the participation of the rest of the Global Mission Committee. In response, computers, printers, overheads and supplies were sent in the sea container that goes annually to Haiti from the Friend's of St. Vincent, an outreach of St. James Episcopal Church, West Hartford. Funds to supply desks, chairs, books and teachers' salaries were sent to Les Cayes with Patti Lynn, and also given to Father Rock on his visit here. The first phase of the school building was completed by the end of the summer, and the school was in use beginning in September 2003. Patti Lynn died in November of that year. Subsequently in 2004, a second phase of building was funded by parishioners, and friends of Patti Lynn outside of St. John’s, and 3 classrooms were added, ready for classroom use September, 2004.
The Haiti Connection - May 2005. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. A frequent opinion is that Haiti has no resources, the land is depleted, there is no public education, no public health, and the leaders are more interested in enriching themselves than providing any of the necessary public structure for the people. But it is not without hope. The Haiti Connection is a conference held every 18 months to gather those churches that are doing work in Haiti, to see what is being done and, for those not yet involved, what the needs are. At the last Haiti Connection meeting held May 1-3, 2005, St. John’s two attendees heard more than once that “Haiti is not destroyed, because of young people with dreams, a vibrant church, and people like us of the church in the USA.” We are considering what we can do to help make the people self-reliant; i.e. education and income from craft sales.
Cuba - Restrictions on travel and funds transfer to Cuba inhibit our support of Santa Cruz del Norté, however, St. John's and Santa Cruz del Norté are actively involved as companion parishes in spite of the difficulties. Parishioners from St. John’s have made three trips to Cuba in the past three years.
