Outreach

St. John's Outreach ministry is inspired by the principles of Micah 6:8 - "What does the Lord require, but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God?" We believe St. John’s is called to embody the love of Christ and to serve those in need in our neighborhood, in the city of Atlanta, and in the world. Working for social justice plays a significant role in our ministry of discipleship, and the congregation provides a wide variety of opportunities for members and visitors to be involved in our work of welcome, service and justice.

InTown Collaborative Ministries & Food Pantry

St. John’s is a member congregation of InTown Collaborative Ministries (ICM). ICM’s vision is “to transform the neighborhood we serve, seeing that the hungry are fed and the homeless are housed. We believe that a healthy neighborhood is one where residents, businesses, faith communities, and non-profits, come together to serve each other for the benefit of all.”

The ICM Emergency Needs Food Pantry is a ministry cooperative of congregations in zip codes 30306 and 30307 intended to help alleviate hunger by providing nutritious food and social service information to those who need them. We also strive to give people opportunities for personal and spiritual growth through meaningful service. St. John’s is the peanut butter & jelly and pasta & sauce church, providing all these items each month for the pantry. Items may be donated during the offering at Sunday worship. Please contact the church office if you are interested in volunteering at the pantry.

Atlanta Hunger Walk

St. John's participates in the annual Atlanta Hunger Walk. Money raised helps support the Atlanta Community Food Bank and Lutheran Services of Georgia. In the past several years, St. John's has helped lead the way, coming in either first or second in fundraising among all participating Lutheran churches.

Over sixty St. John's members marched in the 2007 Hunger Walk

Despite the snow, St. John's Hunger Walkers were set to go in 2009.

Thanksgiving Market

Each year on the Saturday prior to Thanksgiving, we hold our annual market; a day of festive welcome. We reach out to provide not only food, but hospitality. Guests make a reservation through the church office, and are welcomed with seasonal refreshments and an opportunity to shop for items that will enable them to share a special holiday meal with their families. The congregation donates money and shops for groceries to supply the market.

Six Star Refugee Partnership

Six Star Refugee Partnership is an ecumenical ministry whose mission is to mentor and assist refugee families during their transition to self-reliance, and to advocate on behalf of the refugee community. St. John’s supports Six Star by providing board members, volunteer workers and tutors, by collecting donations of furnishings/household items for sponsored families, and providing financial support to the program. Families are assisted with housing for a period up to two years, and helped with English tutoring, enrolling children in school, obtaining medical care, transportation, obtaining employment, and adjusting to the community. Families come to Six Star through the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

Lutherans Concerned/North America

St. John’s is a member of the Reconciling in Christ program of Lutherans Concerned/North America, a roster of congregations in the Lutheran Church that invites gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons to participate fully in the life of the church. The Southeast synod chapter of RIC meets regularly at St. John’s.

Mission Trips

St. John’s participates in an annual summer mission trip to Appalachia. This is an opportunity for youth and adults to experience together a meaningful week of service, fellowship and spiritual growth as we perform needed work with volunteers from other churches and get to know members of rural communities and learn about their lives.

Building Ministry

St. John’s sees our building as a tool for outreach to support groups that are doing important work for compassion, justice, and service to our community. Groups using St. John’s as their “home” include: Atlanta Bead Society, Augustine Fellowship, Druid Hills Civic Association, Fairness for Prisoner’s Families, Kairos Outside, Master's Place, Come As You Are Ministry, Reconciling in Christ (SE Synod chapter), and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.

Retreat Center

One wing of the historic Stonehenge Mansion has been converted into a dorm-style retreat center that is available for groups who plan to come to Atlanta for retreats, urban immersion experiences, and special conferences. The center can sleep up to 25 people in bunk beds. There are four showers available. Groups are able to use the kitchen and the rest of the church’s facilities as available during their stay. Cost for the retreat center is $15 per person per night. For more information on booking your group, please contact the church office.

Angel Tree party

Angel Tree

Every December, St. John’s hosts other area Lutheran congregations in wrapping special presents, then gathering for the annual Christmas party for families. Angel Tree® is designed to reach the innocent victims of crime who are often forgotten…children of prisoners. Angel Tree® touches those children with the love of Christ at Christmas by providing them with special Christmas gifts. Members of local churches volunteer to sponsor these children by purchasing gifts based on information gathered by volunteers and prison chaplains. The prisoner writes a card to be presented along with the gift, assuring the children that Mommy or Daddy misses and loves them. The true gift of Angel Tree® is the strengthening of the family bond while the family is apart.

St. John's Freeze Shelter

When the temperature drops below freezing, St. John’s retreat center becomes our freeze shelter, as we welcome our neighbors from Mercy Church. Beyond providing a warm bed for the night, our intent is to extend welcome, build community, and share experiences. The people of St. John’s provide everything from occasional full meals to morning and evening snacks, bedding, socks, and little comforts such as chapstick, cough drops and kleenex. Our volunteers greet our guests, enjoy conversation before bed, stay overnight, and prepare coffee and snacks in the morning. Another team does the laundry at home. In the 2009-2010 season, we were open 40 nights. As of late February, 2011, we have been open nearly 50 nights. Shared time together is a precious gift as we exchange stories and get to know one another. We are grateful to God for giving St. John’s this opportunity, and to our guests for putting a face on homelessness for us.

Sandwich Sunday

On the fourth Sunday of each month, members donate sandwich makings, and stay after church to make 100 sack lunches for those who are hungry in our neighborhood.

Fair Trade Coffee

By purchasing Equal Exchange coffee, tea, hot chocolate and chocolate bars through Lutheran World Relief's Fair Trade program, we contribute to LWR, promote awareness of "fair trade" and make these items available for purchase by the congregation, as well as serving Equal Exchange coffee every Sunday morning and at other other church events. Fair Trade assures consumers that the coffee we drink was purchased under fair conditions. To become Fair Trade certified, an importer must meet stringent international criteria; paying a set minimum price per pound, providing much needed credit to farmers, and providing technical assistance, such as help transitioning to organic farming. Fair Trade for coffee farmers means community development, health, education, and environmental stewardship

Bread for the World

St. John’s is a member congregation of Bread for the World, which seeks to end hunger by influencing public policy. We participate in offerings of letters written to Members of Congress on issues affecting domestic and international food policy and hunger.