Chairperson: Lydia Rutherford
St. John’s Outreach Committee is a volunteer group of men and women, professional and non-professional, employed and retired who believe that God calls us to lend a hand to those we see in need. The Outreach Committee’s activities are approved by the vestry and supported by our parishioners who provide the money and the muscle for many of the projects undertaken. Outreach is collaborative, involving anyone who is interested in helping. We meet once a year to decide on the list of recipients who will receive financial assistance from the tithe of our annual operating budget. At this meeting, we plan on the service projects we will be involved in and special offerings we will collects during the year.
Gifts and talents that are helpful to this ministry are: a working knowledge of the community assistance programs, insight into human behavior, some administrative skills, awareness of and sensitivity to human need, creative thinking, ability to access resources, and some financial accounting skills. One person need not possess all of the above. Outreach is a team effort, each person bringing their particular gifts and talents to the table.
In Mt. Vernon and surrounding communities, we contribute to the following: Posey County Young Life, The Children’s Learning Center, Mt. Vernon Kiwanis Club, the Mt. Vernon Ministerial Association Christmas Gift Assistance Program, the United Thank Offering, , Family Matters, Mt. Vernon High School’s After Prom, Precious Posies (helps needy families of infants and children. St. John’s give a baby shower in the spring), YWCA Domestic Violence Shelter, Willow Tree, and Seaman’s Church Institute (pastoral care and supplies for riverboat workers on the Ohio River). Nationally and Internationally, we have taken part in Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child (shoeboxes filled with goodies for children around the world), and we purchase animals for needy families through Heifer International or Episcopal Relief and Development. We also contribute to Episcopal Seminaries. The children of the parish urged the Outreach Committee to support other creature of God, so we support Posey Humane Society.
If you have compassion for the needy, if you seek God’s wisdom in prayer, if you are willing to share and to work, or if you would just like to see what Outreach can be, this might be a ministry for you.
