In the Community

Helping Our Neighbors

St. John’s generously supports local, regional, national and international organizations and non-profits including the Care-N-Share Food Pantry, Youngstown Volunteer Fire Company, Youngstown Free Library, Community Missions of Niagara, Inc., and the Village of Youngstown/Town of Porter Christmas Baskets program. On the national level and international levels, we support the United Thank Offering and Episcopal Relief and Development. All proceeds from parish activities such as our Strawberry Fest, are used to support our outreach efforts.

Activities For The Community

St. John’s Parish hosts several activities for the community including our annual Strawberry Fest, musical events and speaker programs.  The Parish Hall is also available to support groups needing meeting space.

Annual Strawberry Fest 

St John’s hosts an annual Strawberry Fest for the community on the third Saturday in June.  Strawberry shortcake made with local berries, homemade shortcakes and freshly whipped cream is served, along with grilled foods prepared by the Youngstown Lions.  Rounding out the event is live music and activities for children.

For more information, visit our Strawberry Fest page!

Care ‘N Share Food Pantry

According to the staff, St. John’s is one of the biggest supporters of the food pantry, located in Ransomville, NY.  Weekly collections and ongoing financial support are possible because of the care and concern parishioners have for those who are suffering from food insecurity. 

Community Missions of the Niagara Frontier, Inc.

This wonderful ministry serves Niagara County’s most vulnerable: the poverty community.  They have been an outreach partner of ours for many years.  We have given hundreds of personal care items for distribution to families and individuals living in temporary housing.

Lewiston-Porter Families in Need

Working closely with the school counselors of our school district, St. John’s has provided thousands of dollars in school supplies and merchant gift cards to help families having difficulty providing their children with the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. We also collect much-needed school supplies in August for our annual “backpack blessing.”

Youngstown/Porter Senior Van

St. John’s spearheaded a fundraising effort to help assist our local government in purchasing a van for our senior citizens to transport them to appointments.  One of our church leaders, Shawn D’Luhy, was instrumental in this effort and was awarded the Village of Youngstown Citizen of the Year in recognition of her efforts. 

Pet Blessing

In the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, we hold a pet blessing on or around the time of his feast day.  Information is published on the parish website and Facebook pages each October.

Commission to Dismantle Racism and Discrimination

Our representatives on the Diocesan Commission to Dismantle Racism and Discrimination are Mother Barbara, Jean Gerlach and Barbara Yandian. They coordinated several special events for our parish, including a viewing of “The Thomas Ashford Story.” Tom was present with us, and answered questions and continued the conversation about his experience of attending St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in the 1950’s, when it was a predominately White congregation.

We also hosted guest musician, Jeremy Printup, a musician and member of the Tuscarora Nation accepted our invitation to share his musical talents with us. He provided the offertory music and sang two songs with verses in Tuscarora and English. The congregation was visibly moved by his heartfelt singing and guitar playing. 

Tuscarora Language teacher, Caitlin Philips, joined us at coffee hour on March 19. Caitlin shared with us her efforts in keeping the Tuscarora language alive. She teaches at the Tuscarora Indian School in Niagara-Wheatfield, and works tirelessly to raise awareness about the importance of protecting and safeguarding Native American cultural traditions. Part of her presentation touched on the abuses of forced assimilation suffered by Indigenous people throughout American history.

Parishioners also studied the book, Ladder to the Light: an Indigeneous Elder’s Meditations on Hope and Courage by Steven Charleston. Rev. Charleston is one of the most spirit-filled inspirational writers in the Episcopal Church today. He served as Bishop of the Diocese of Alaska and President and Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School. He is a leading voice for justice for Indigenous peoples.

We also took a field trip to the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center: our Visitor Experience Specialist, Jasiah Jackson, conducted an informative and engaging tour with great enthusiasm, offering plenty of time for questions and offering deeper perspectives. The museum has acquired several primary sources that tell the story of how the sin of slavery continues to impact us today, and the hopes and dreams of all freedom seekers, past and present.