By Baptism, we are commissioned to assist our neighbor in need. St. John the Evangelist Church partners with local agencies and churches to address various challenges in our community. At times we have parishioners who act as liaisons, but you may contact the agency or church directly if you are able to assist in their mission.
Backpack Ministry
Our backpack ministry involves members of St. John the Evangelist working with Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church members, Kiwanis Club members, and the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. Our participation entails a small team of volunteers who pack food in backpacks for schoolchildren to take home at the end of each week during the school year. Blue Ridge Area Food Bank supplies the food and members of Kiwanis deliver the food to Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church. Members of Grace and St. John alternate weeks of packing the food. Kiwanis members pick up the packed food for delivery to the appropriate school.
Contact: Mary Miller: memiller@lumos.net / (540) 480-9186
Bereavement Hospitality
At the time of a death in our parish, the family of the deceased is offered a reception after the funeral service. The meals are prepared and served by members of the committee. Those willing to assist with this ministry are called upon to prepare a dish to contribute for the occasion, and/or to assist in serving the meal. Volunteers welcome.
Coordinator: Dawn DiMuro-Rogers
C.R.O.P. Hunger Walk
The C.R.O.P. (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) Hunger Walk, held in the early fall, is an ecumenical endeavor to provide funds to combat world hunger through Church World Services (CWS). Annually, approximately 200 walkers representing 20 different area churches walk the 3.5 miles through Waynesboro in solidarity with those who walk many miles for water, to gather food, or escape war or natural disaster. Twenty-five percent of the funds collected stay in the local area and fund the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Disciples Kitchen, the Salvation Army, and the Senior Center, all of which provide vital assistance to hungry people in our community. The remainder goes to CWS to meet disaster relief and recovery needs, facilitate social and economic development, provide assistance to refugees, and address poverty and powerlessness through education and advocacy.
In 2019, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of CROP Walk nationally & our 44th year of walking in this community!
We need your help! You can help by walking, accepting donations, donating, becoming a business sponsor or partner, praying for our walkers, and praying for those most in need.
Contact: Eric Gleason: atrustheservant@gmail.com / (540) 729-5897
Disciples Kitchen
The Disciple’s Kitchen in Waynesboro is an ecumenical meal kitchen open to all individuals and families who would like a meal and some fellowship. St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church is one of the founding members of Disciples Kitchen and has actively participated since its inception in 2007. Volunteers provide approximately 50 meals for lunch. Volunteers from St. John work at the kitchens approximately every other month to set up the dining room, provide and serve the meals, and clean up after the meal. Lunch meals are served Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 11:30 AM to 12:15 PM in the Fellowship Hall of 2nd Presbyterian Church on Commerce Avenue. All guests are welcome and meals are free of charge.
Ministry currently on hold due to COVID restrictions.
If you would like to volunteer contact the coordinator listed below. Other ways you can help: This is a self-sufficient ministy and they are always appreciative of monetary donations to hlep with the purchase of food for the meals that they serve. If you are able to make a contibution, please give a check made out to "St. John the Evangelist" wilth a note on the check stating it is for Disciples Kitchen. By making the donation to our parish, the gift is tax deductible for you. Another way to help is throught prayer! Prayer for the ministry, the community we serve, the volunteers, and all who need love and support while they face challenges. Prayer is our most powerful tool for this ministry.
Coordinator Bonnie Farran, bonniemuirfarran@gmail.com
GriefShare: Grief Support Group
A Christ-centered, scripture focused, non-denominational support group open to adults of all faiths and beliefs. GriefShare includes 13 weekly video seminars featuring some of the nation's foremost experts on grief recovery topics. Each video is followed by a small group discussion, personal workbook, guided reflections, and opportunities for encouragement and support as participants walk the journey of grief with others who have lost a loved one.
If you participated in a previous seminar, you are welcome and encouraged to return. As you heal, you will become aware of new information to help you heal.
Click HERE to see a brief video about GriefShare.
Coordinators: Janine Blanchet and Bill Fitzpatrick
Kairos Ministry
Kairos is an Ecumenical Christian Ministry, designed to be presented in Medium and Maximum Security prisons.
- There are active Kairos units in the US, Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, Australia, Ireland, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
- There are a total of 320 prisons around the world which have active Kairos communities.
Kairos is an outgrowth of the Cursillo and Walk to Emmaus Christian revival movements.
- It is a three-day short course in the Christian Life that is presented twice a year in each prison in which Kairos is established.
- The purpose of Kairos is to build a Christian community within the darkness of the prison, among the inmates.
Currently, two parishioners from St. John support the Kairos ministry at Augusta Correctional Center (ACC), located just outside of Craigsville. There are approximately 1,400 inmates at ACC.
The prison chaplain selects 36 resident inmates, usually from among the leaders in the prison, to attend the Kairos weekend. The concept is simple – if you can reach the leaders, they will carry the message back to many more.
The Kairos team that presents the short course consists of about 22 volunteers. The team enters the prison as servants of Christ – not preaching, not judging, not giving advice – but reflecting the love of Christ. Someone has said that Kairos is a ministry to the lost and forgotten. It truly is a mission field in a foreign land – a land of lost souls.
The opportunities to serve throughout the year are
- Twice yearly “retreats” for new candidates
- Thursday – Sunday of the third weekend in March and October
- Team building and preparation occurs on three Sundays (8:00 – 3:00) prior to the weekend, generally in September and February. Attendance required for at least two sessions.
- The team repots to Grace Bible Camp (current location) on Wednesday evening for additional team building activities as part of the retreat weekend.
- One-day instructional retreats take place on the Saturday following the “retreat” weekends; the purpose is to help the men form prayer and share groups in their pods.
- One-day instructional retreats also occur on the third Saturdays of January and June.
- Reunions are held on the third Saturday of each month, except October and March, in the evening.
Prison Ministry
Our two prison ministries provide a pastoral presence and spiritual guidance to inmates at area correctional facilities who are adult men or teenage girls and boys. The ministry to men is conducted in conjunction with St. Francis of Assisi in Staunton. Volunteers provide a Communion service, lead hymns, and engage Catholic men in proclaiming and sharing reflections on readings from the Old and New Testaments. In the teenage ministry, volunteers from St. John work with the pastor of St. Francis to visit local detainees, regardless of their faith or lack thereof. We also welcome undocumented, unaccompanied teenagers in the name of the Catholic Church. For any Catholic children who are eligible, we arrange to have Confessions heard in Spanish or English, and subsequently provide weekly Communion, and accompaniment for them.
Meeting Thursday Afternoon: Visiting Augusta Correctional Center, Craigsville
Meeting Tuesday Evening: Visiting Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center, Staunton.
Contact: Rosie Haverkamp, Jim Donnelly
Respect Life Committee
We partner with the Office of Justice and Peace, Respect Life Program (June 2013). The committee is committed to building and sustaining a culture of life and upholding our Christian conviction that all human life is sacred and inviolable – God’s own gratuitous gift, freely bestowed on us from the moment of conception until natural death. We will educate the community of the importance of life through a three-pronged approach on youth and adult education, dedicated prayer and meaningful action. The committee is dedicated to alleviating any circumstances that compromise human dignity. We believe that no person has the right to destroy God’s gift of life. As disciples of Jesus, we will follow his example of love and compassion. We will safeguard God’s creation.
Contact: Diana Hall: dchall36@hotmail.com
Rosary Makers
A group that meets to make rosaries, which are sent to foreign missions, hospitals, and the military.
Coordinator: Judy Charles
Rosary Rescue
This ministry repairs rosaries that have been broken or have missing parts. The rosaries to be repaired are to be brought by the parish office along with the name and phone number attached. The repaired rosaries will be returned to the parishioner or given to someone needing a rosary.
Coordinator: Judy Charles
St. John's Friends
This ministry reaches out in friendship and brings church to those who cannnot come to our physical location - they who are our Friends. This ministry includes multiple components: Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, who take the Eucharist to Friends at their homes, in hospitals, or nursing homes; Pastoral Care Visitors, who help connect our Friends to the parish community by offering conversation and providing bulletins, books, and news about our faith community; Greeting Card Ministers, who help parishioners remember our Friends by periodically sending regular notes, birthday and holiday cards, and messages of encouragement.
Coordinator: Linda Thompson: twotees@comcast.net
