Church in Action

Serving our Community

The Food Bank

We collect donations to the New Milford Food Bank – drive right up and let us do the heavy lifting!

Ministry Supported through Building Use

During these difficult times, our church strives to do the most good with the resources we have. One resource that is being under-utilized during this pandemic is our church building itself. We have arranged to allow two community programs to use our space to fit their needs: the Community Culinary School, and Literacy Volunteers

Culinary School

From their website:

“We seek to empower participants, qualifying them for jobs that earn a living wage in the food service industry and helping to feed the community while doing so. The Community Culinary School has been carrying out our mission since 2007.”

Literacy Volunteers

From their website:

“Literacy Volunteers on the Green provides free English literacy instruction to adults in Litchfield and northern Fairfield Counties so they can participate fully in the communities we share. Our vision is for every adult to fulfill his or her life goals through English literacy.

We do this by promoting English literacy among individuals to help them become independent readers, writers, listeners, and speakers of English through classes as well as natural, authentic, real-life activities and experiences.”

Tall Paul’s Closet

Opened in 2012 and named in honor of our friend Paul Rake, Tall Paul’s Closet helped provide warm clothes to the local homeless community before closing during the COVID 19 pandemic. It is currently being repurposed to better meet the needs of the New Milford community. Please check back soon for more information.

Change for Change

We are excited to announce that St. John’s is about to begin the third year of the “Change for Change” program. Thanks to your generosity we have contributed over $6,500 to 18  great causes in five years.
If you have a cause you would like us to donate to please let one of the committee members know.

We are truly grateful to all who participate in the “Change for Change” program and please remember to bring in your jars to remind everyone about this program.
The contributions made by St. John’s members will change people’s lives, not only in the United States, but throughout the world. The Change for Change Committee would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all those who have donated their change to help these great causes.

The Santa Fund

Each holiday season, St John’s “adopts” a selection of children from our community in order to purchase gifts for them. Details about these children are furnished by New Milford Social Services, so that members of our church can buy them appropriate gifts while still preserving the anonymity of the families who will receive the gifts.

This is just a portion of the gifts purchased by our members for children in our community, from December of 2018

The Food Bank

We collect non-perishable food for the food bank in New Milford.

Especially needed are personal care items – toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, shampoo, soaps, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, disposable razors, and shaving cream. These items are not covered by food stamps and are needed desperately.

Each month, we bring forward the donations to be blessed with our offering as part of our worship. Please be generous, and next time you are in the grocery store, pick up something for someone who can’t shop for themselves.

Serving the World

Kiva

With an initial investment of about $3,000 and by re lending loans as they are repaid, the St. John’s Kiva lending group has lent over $14,000 to over 500 deserving women entrepreneurs in 50 different countries. These figures are as of Dec 2017. The initial investment was funded through the cooperative fundraising efforts of Women’s Global Mission Group, Change for Change, and the Victorian Tea.  As the money is repaid it is lent out again resulting in perpetual mission giving without further investment from St. John’s. The deserving women who receive our loans repay at a 98% repayment rate and are able to enhance the lives of their families and communities primarily through small business start ups. Visit kiva.org to learn more.

Serving the World

New Milford Refugee Resettlement
The New Milford Refugee Resettlement and Washington Refugee Resettlement Project groups are each expecting to receive families soon. Both families will be settled in houses near our church.

Although we will not know for sure until each family arrives, we anticipate two families from the Turquoise Mountain area in Afghanistan. A group of 12 families from this area were evacuated to Qatar; we think that the NMRR family is being moved to a military base now.
We won’t have much advance notice before the families arrive, but both of the houses are fully furnished, pantries are stocked, literacy volunteers are ready and the local school systems are aware. Tall Paul’s Closet is being prepared and stocked.

We also learned at the vestry meeting (thanks to Donna Sullivan) that there is a difference between the words Afghan and Afghani. Afghani actually refers to a form of currency in Afghanistan, so these refugee families are Afghan, not Afghani. 

If you have an interest in helping out with refugee resettlement, please reach out to Lisa or Sharlene.

Serving our Church

St. John’s Vestry 2022