Outreach Lead Team


The Outreach Lead Team (OLT) represents St. John’s by supporting the needs of people in both our St. John’s community and the community beyond our doors. OLT works to promote inclusivity within the church and to support inclusivity in the community. The Outreach Lead Team on its own cannot begin to do all the outreach of the church, it depends very much on the congregation to contribute time, talent and treasure to fill the many needs.
At present, the following community missions have been identified and are being supported:
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Brunswick Street (BSM): Clothing and small household items are collected every Sunday for the BSM and then volunteers deliver. Monetary Support is also provided. At the end of the calendar year, monies remaining in the OLT ‘account’ are combined with the Christmas Eve collection and White Gift Sunday and funds are then divided among various groups. A group from St. John's also attend the Mission's Annual Fund Raising Breakfast. For many years, the OLT has organized a group of volunteers from our congregation to supply, cook, and serve early Saturday morning breakfasts for the homeless at the Mission. 2-4 breakfasts are undertaken yearly.
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Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank: Every Sunday, food items are collected for the food bank. At the end of the year, any remaining OLT funds, along White Gift and Christmas Eve monies are contributed to help Parker Street provide food, distribute furniture, run programs, and deal with heating and power emergency requests.
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ARK Outreach: Outreach Lead Team will be in charge of contacting and encouraging the participation of the congregation in the organization of volunteers to make casseroles for two of the weekly St. Andrew's Church Sunday Night Suppers. Volunteers also have taken part in ARK's annual 'Coldest Night of the Year' fundraising walk.
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Manna for Health: St John's continues to operate the Manna for Health Food Bank. Along with volunteers who regularly purchase food and necessities, Manna continues to receive ongoing support and significant deliveries from Feed Nova Scotia. As a result of careful inventory management, our referred clients are now receiving more food than ever, along with protein rich meats. We have now also added eggs, instant oats, rice powdered milk and cod fish fillets. At the end of the year, any funds remaining in the OLT ‘account’ are combined with the Christmas Eve collection, White Gift Sunday and distributed among various groups.
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Mission & Service Fund: Members of St. John’s contribute to this national fund which supports ministries and projects in Canada and around the world.
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Christmas and Lenten projects: For several years, the OLT has provided a "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree with tags suggesting gifts for an identified organization for that year. In 2017, generous congregants provided many gifts for the guests of the Metro Turning Point Shelter as well as gifts for needy students at Citadel High School. During Lent, personal items and cleaning supplies are collected and delivered to clients of Manna For Health.
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The Mitten Line: St John's has provided many mittens to children and youth. During the fall of 2017, talented knitters (and shoppers) from St. John's provided warm woollens which were distributed to the Uniacke Square Community Parents' Association for children in their daycare and afterschool programs.
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Kairos: St John's has been involved in this ecumenical organization which united 11 churches and religious organizations (including the United church of Canada) in work for social justice in Canada and around the globe. Folks who have been involved in Kairos activities have engaged in research, policy development, education and advocacy on a wide range of justice issues. Currently, much work is being done to understand and enact the church’s response to the calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report into the history and legacy of Canada’s residential school system.
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Scotiabank Aids Walk: For the past 6 years, members of the congregation have sponsored and taken part in this annual event to raise funds for Manna For Health and the Aids Coalition of Nova Scotia.
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Refugee Working Group at St John's United: Our faith community is sponsoring its second refugee family. Learn about the Kurdish culture on this blog.