Outreach Committee

St. John’s has a longstanding practice of devoting ten percent of its pledged income each year to support the ongoing work of organizations near and far that address pressing needs of God’s children.

The committee

• makes recommendations to Vestry for St. John’s grants
• makes recommendations to Steering Committee for the occasional use of “Raille’s Bowl” to collect freewill offerings during services for particular emergency needs, which the committee matches
• informs parishioners of opportunities to volunteer with organizations that St. John’s supports.

The organizations supported in 2022 were:

Berkshire Food Project

Berkshire Immigrant Center

BFAIR

Cathedral of the Beloved

Elder Services of Berkshire County

Five Talents

Global Health Partnerships

Louison House

Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity

Tent of the Beloved

Ukrainian Refugee Support

Williamstown Farmers Market

In addition to this annual program, the committee is in the process of recommending to Vestry targets of opportunity grants, drawn from the parish’s tithe of recent bequests, to advance initiatives in the community with the potential to have long-lasting effects.

The organizations supported so far are:

2nd Street Second Chances

Berkshire Black Economic Council

Questions and suggestions of organizations to be considered for support and of emergencies to support from Raille’s Bowl can be sent to Jim Kolesar, committee chair, at outreach@stjohnswilliamstown.org.