Category Archives: Important Announcements

Posts that need to appear on the front page of the website go in this category.

Happy 4th of July!

The St. John-St. Paul Collaborative Offices will be closed on Wednesday, July 4. 

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Wednesday, June 20: Looking Forward with NPH

Anyone who is interested in working together to forward the Collaborative’s relationship with Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH, Spanish for “Our Little Brothers and Sisters”) is invited to meet on Wednesday, June 20 at 7:00pm in St. John Powers Hall. Representatives from NPH will be there and we will find out about ways in which we can help to improve the lives of some of our most needy brothers and sisters.

We Need Your Help!

Our fiscal year is coming to a close on June 30th and we need your help to meet our budget numbers. We are currently at 88% of our Annual Appeal budget and need to collect about $40,000 in order to meet that goal. Together with the Offertory donations, the Annual Appeal accounts for 90% of the parish’s total revenue. This revenue funds all the clergy and lay staff, utilities, buildings and grounds maintenance, and many parish ministries.

Please take this opportunity to reflect on the role that St. John’s plays in your life and the life of your family.  The strength and vitality of our parish community comes from our collective contributions – large and small.  Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be placed in the collection basket at Mass or dropped off/mailed to the Parish Office.  If you prefer, you may donate online through WeShare, our online giving program, by clicking the link below. There’s no need to set up an account – anyone can make a one-time donation using a Credit Card, Debit Card or a Checking/Savings Direct Withdrawal.  

Thank you for your continued generous support of St. John the Evangelist Parish.

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Star of Bethlehem Handicrafts: June 23-24

St. John Church will welcome Maysoon Khair from Star of Bethlehem Handicrafts.  Maysoon will be selling carved Olive Wood handicrafts made by small family businesses and the older students of the School of Joy, which is a school for children with learning difficulties located just outside Bethlehem. Sales of the handicrafts directly benefit Christian families living in very difficult circumstances as well as the important work of the school.

“By buying from these articles you are not just supporting the school and the children, but you are also creating in them a sense of self-respect and confidence in their abilities.”

Maysoon will be at the back of the church after all Masses at St. John Church June 23-24. She will be visiting St. Paul Church later in the year.

Lenten Gift Thank You from NPH USA

The greatest gift we offer our children when they enter our home is the sense of security and hope that once again they are a part of a family. A family that promises them they will never have to go back to where they have come from whether it be living on the streets, going days without food, never stepping inside a school, never seeing a doctor, never having shoes to put on their feet, or the fear of where they will end up after losing their parents. A family that provides the comfort of knowing they will always have food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, and an education. A family that loves them unconditionally and strives to instill the importance of forgiveness, strength, hard work and perseverance so that they will not live in the past but strive to change their future. This promise is evident at each and every one of our homes. There is a moment as each child settles into the home where if you watch closely, you can witness this transformation and see them smile from their eyes. It is in this moment, you know the child has found hope.

This feeling of security was significantly impacted on September 9th when the earthquake hit Mexico resulting in over 5 million dollars in damages to our NPH Mexico home that threatened the core of our programs. During a time when so many significant global disasters were occurring, our NPH home feared it would be years before being able to identify the funding to rebuild and return that sense of security back to our children while meeting their daily needs. It was in that moment, the mission of NPH came to life by the outpouring of support from our greater NPH family network of supporters, who returned that sense of hope, security, and sense of unconditional love. We cannot begin to thank the St. John – St. Paul Collaborative community enough for ensuring our children have hope. We are touched beyond words with your $20,011.00 of financial support to our NPH Mexico children. On behalf of our children, thank you from the bottom of our heart.

Monica Henry & Elizabeth Caletka
NPH USA Team

Our Sunday Family Mass Program is on Summer Vacation!

Our Sunday 9:00am Mass will be a regular liturgy until the Family Mass returns in September with child-focused  homilies and Donuts & Coffee.

Thank you so much to all the families who volunteered this year for Donuts & Coffee set-up and clean-up. This time after Mass is a wonderful source of community and connection, and the help from our volunteers is greatly appreciated.

Christina Dangond Lacouture and Our Girl Scout Troop 73848

Christina Dangond Lacouture presents Father Bayer with a check to build the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Colombia on behalf of Build the Faith, Inc. (Photo courtesy/Monica Lacouture)


Please take a moment to read the Pilot article, In her illness and death, a girl brings others closer to God”  about life of Christina Dangond Lacouture, the beautiful friendship between Christina and Andrea Villalba, and the amazing work of our own Girl Scout Troop 73848, based out of the St. John-St. Paul Collaborative under the leadership of Kim Meehan.

June 9-10: Men’s Clothing Drive for St. Francis House

stfrancishouse_largeEach spring our collaborative community comes together to support  St. Francis House with a Men’s Clothing Drive. Each year the drive is a huge success because of your generosity and grace. St. Francis House serves approximately 50 clothing appointments per day (M-F), which is 250 full set of clothing per week, to their guests in need. To help meet this ongoing need, we are collecting men’s gently-used everyday clothing.

Right now, the highest needed items include:

  • Men’s pants (especially jeans size 30-40)
  • T-shirts, shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts, & spring
    coats
  • Footwear (walking shoes and sneakers)
  • Backpacks/duffel bags/tote bags
  • Summer hats (baseball caps, beach hats)
  • NEW underwear and undershirts (in original
    packaging)
  • NEW socks (for their Foot Clinic)

We hope you will take the time for a quick spring cleaning, and remember to drop off the items to the St. John church garage on the weekend of June 9-10 from 9AM to 5PM. If you can put your items in boxes or secured bags, and label it with the general contents, it would be a great help with sorting. Thank you for your generosity!

Please Note: This year, women’s clothing can also be dropped off.  They DO NOT accept children’s clothing, used socks, or any discolored items.

If you have any questions please contact Shilan Yeung,  either email at shilanhappy@gmail.com or text/call at 508-801-7072.