St. John members are engaged in a variety of ministries to the local community and the world. We consider both York and the world-at-large to be our mission field. Among the many ways we serve the world outside our doors are the ministries listed below.
If you would like to learn more about Outreach at St. John, please contact the Chair of our Outreach Committee, Susan Ariail.
The Elizabeth Bonham Mission Fund is one of the unique ways that St. John’s is able to support mission work around the world.
This fund is held as a trust on behalf of the Historical Society of York County, the Conservation Society of York County, and the Rector, Wardens, and Vestry of St. John Episcopal Church.
The trust income is to be used for “the advancement of the Mission work of the Protestant Episcopal Church at large.”
An Advisory Committee consisting of the Rector, Wardens, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Bonham Fund receives all inquiries and recommends to the Trustees appropriate action. The Trustees of the Elizabeth S. Bonham Mission Fund meet twice a year, in early November and early May, to review grant requests received during the previous six months.
Grants recently funded include support for theological education and ministry formation, domestic and international. The Bonham Fund also supported theological training for Anglican clergy in Tanzania.
Application materials and approved guidelines may be downloaded below. Questions or inquiries may be directed to Liz Wright, Secretary of the Bonham Fund.
Parish members meet every two months to clean the 100 block of North Beaver Street as a part of the City of York’s Adopt-a-Block program to help keep the city streets clean.
St. John has participated in the Box Tops for Education Program for many years. We have named Ferguson Elementary School as the recipient of the funds raised by this program as it is close to St. John. The Box Tops program has gone “electronic”, eliminating the need to clip out and handle coupons and replacing that with the process of scanning your grocery receipt for items that are included in the program with your smart phone, using the Box Tops for Education app, available at the App Store for your phone. All you need to do is download the app and scan your grocery receipt if you have purchased General Mills Products included in the program. Please designate your funds to Ferguson Elementary School, York, PA. To learn how to do this, check out the You Tube video below.
Members of St. John the Baptist participate in the annual CROP Hunger Walk, held in October, which raises funds for Church World Service hunger programs and for hunger programs in the York Community. We typically have over twenty walkers who raise over $2,500 in pledges support each year. Twenty five percent of the funds raised in the CROP Hunger Walk remain in York to support feeding programs in the community. The CROP Walk is coordinated by the Greater York CROP Hunger Walk Committee.
Church Volunteers provide an Easter Luncheon for needy people and for First Responders who are on duty on Easter. The meal is prepared and served in the Parish Hall by twenty or more parishioners. See local coverage of this ministry by the York Dispatch.
The church buildings are used by the Literacy Council to teach GED classes. They are used by the Lincoln Intermediate Unit to teach English as a Second Language classes.
Hundreds of Haitian families have fled dire circumstances at home, only to struggle in squalid conditions as they work within our civic systems to make a new home in York. St. John is proud to partner with the YMCA's New American Welcome Center to support these refugee families in accessing housing, local food banks, clothing depots, legal help, language classes, and with day to day necessities. We strive to help them integrate into the community, and also, to inform, support, and encourage the community to receive them.
Parishioners provide twenty-plus casseroles for the Our Daily Bread soup kitchen each month. Four to six parishioners serve the noon meal at Our Daily Bread the fourth Tuesday of each month.
The rummage sale provides a resource for clothing, toys, and miscellaneous items for needy people in the community. The rummage sale is held twice yearly, in the spring and in the fall. Items not sold are turned over to LifePath Christian Ministries or other low income service organization for their outreach work. Money raised from the Rummage Sales is used in St. John outreach work.
This scholarship is for the purchase of books related to the applicant’s post high school course of study. The scholarship is available to student families who are currently active at St. John. Scholarships are granted up to a maximum of $500 per calendar year. Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 24.