Members of the St. John’s Parish Global Mission Apostolate are interested in educating ourselves and others about the challenges faced by the world’s poor in developing countries. Our mission is to promote awareness of the needs of the poor, encourage parishioners to become personally involved in helping the poor, and to provide practical assistance to needy persons mainly in developing nations. In short our Apostolate’s mission is to remind ourselves and all St. John’s parishioners of our responsibility as Christians to make the love and care of the poor a priority in our lives. We select projects that we feel fellow parishioners would like to learn about and support. We have several annual projects (see below) and always welcome input from parishioners who have suggestions about how we can help those most in need around the globe.

Annual projects include:

  • Child Sponsorship Program (during Lent). St. John’s raises funds every year to help support the education of children in developing countries. Several Catholic missions or organizations are presented and we ask parishioners to consider donating to education-related projects or making a general donation towards educating children. Over the years, we have augmented the cost of tuition, books, uniforms and school supplies and in some missions have paid teacher salaries. St. John’s has also helped renovate a schoolroom and furnish a new nursery school with tables, benches, and supplies. We are always looking for project ideas that support the education of poor children overseas.
  • Bike Collection (September/October) – St. John’s collects bicycles in conjunction with the Bikes-Not-Bombs (BNB) program in Jamaica Plain. Donated bikes directly benefit communities in the developing world as well as teens in Boston through BNB’s Earn-A-Bike and Girls in Action programs. In developing countries bikes are used like we use cars, trucks and buses. Bikes improve access to food and water, health care, employment and schools. Also bikes create income opportunities as bike parts are used to build pedal-powered machines and bike repair shops create jobs.
  • The Giving Tree (Advent) – This Advent tradition brings into closer focus the work of Catholic missionaries and organizations and encourages us to be involved with and to share in their compassion for those in most need. Parishioners choose to help missionaries with financial assistance for their missions and projects, but also with prayers and expressions of thanks and encouragement written in Christmas cards/notes.
  • Parish involvement – Whenever possible the Apostolate tries to involve St. John’s parish community in service related to its mission.

Meetings are held on an as needed basis. We encourage all to join in our mission and we welcome “part-time” help from parishioners for individual projects. If you would like to attend or join in for any or all of the above projects, please contact one of the members of the apostolate for details.

Contacts are Paul St. Jean, & Sue Lampert. For more information, reach out to the parish office, 508-435-3313 x203.