MLK Day of Service: School on Wheels

Please join St. John’s in supporting School on Wheels in Massachusetts for this year’s MLK Day of Service! School on Wheels provides educational support—including tutoring, mentoring, and school supplies—to Massachusetts students facing homelessness and poverty. Over 11,000 students in the Bay State have received backpacks and school supplies from School on Wheels. More information about the organization can be found at sowma.org.

You can help in two ways: 

• Sign up here to volunteer January 20th at their site in East Bridgewater; and/or

• Donate NEW books and school materials. Books for children grades 5 and higher are particularly needed. (Buttonwood has a wonderful selection!)

Donations can be left in the bin at the side entrance or in the donation bin in the narthex.

Thank you for your support!

South Shore Deanery Sacred Ground Series: An Invitation

It’s hard to watch the news these days and not feel helpless and heartbroken about the state of race relations in America. Yet this is not a new story. Indeed, the current divisiveness and fissures across lines of perceived difference in our country have resulted in fear, indifference toward one another rather than understanding and acceptance.

This year, we invite our siblings in the South Shore Deanery to participate in a journey over the sacred ground of racial introspection and reconciliation. It won’t be an easy walk, but it will be a transformative one. We hope you will give serious consideration to participating in Sacred Ground, a film- and readings-based dialogue series on race.

We will walk through the chapters of America’s history of race and racism, while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity.

This 11-part series, put together by the Episcopal Church and co-led by St. John the Evangelist parishioners Dr. Holly Carter and Dr. Caitlin Slodden with facilitated small group discussions, is built around a powerful in-person and online curriculum of documentary films and readings that focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories.

This is not intended as a series to make white people feel bad about themselves. Rather, it is a chance to look at hard, often minimized truths about race and culture in a world that so desperately needs racial healing and understanding. Participating in Sacred Ground is a tangible way to engage our continuing struggle with racial identity and difference in the context of our lives as fellow children of God.

We won’t leave with all the answers and perhaps it will only raise more questions. But when we view such an educational opportunity as a first step towards greater reconciliation, God is praised and our potential to serve agents of healing is realized.

Our Sacred Ground series will be offered in hybrid format with in-person sessions held on Sundays at 12:30–2 p.m. at The Parish of St. John the Evangelist (172 Main St., Hingham), beginning on Feb. 9. The virtual sessions will be held on Monday evenings 7–8:30 p.m. beginning on Feb. 10. Both the in-person and virtual series will begin with a brief presentation followed by small and whole group discussions. Recognizing that schedules are complicated, we are asking those participating in this program to attempt to attend all 11 sessions, as the group aspect is an important component. If you are interested in serving as a facilitator for the small group discussions, training sessions will be scheduled during the weeks of Jan. 26 or Feb. 2.

For additional information or questions about this program, and, most importantly to sign up for the in-person or virtual Sacred Ground series send an email to sacredgroundsouthshoredeanery@gmail.com or contact Holly Carter at 617-610-8508. We ask that you sign up by Jan. 19, 2025. There is a 40-person limit for the in-person sessions and a 30-person limit for the virtual sessions.

Angel and Warming Trees

Starting Sunday, Nov. 24, you will see two decorated Christmas trees in the church entryway. One is a Warming Tree to go with our traditional Angel Tree.

On the Angel Tree, each ornament is a gift tag with a gift request on the front and instructions printed on the back. Please help us make a Christmas wish come true for a person in need by taking an ornament or two, purchasing the requested gift, and returning the gift and tag to the church office by Tues., Dec. 6.

A second tree, our Warming Tree, is also in the narthex. If you would like to provide hat and gloves/mittens for age 0–18, feel free to take a reminder flyer from the tree. Kindly return your gift and hang it on the tree by December 6.

Please leave all gifts unwrapped.

Thank you for your generous support. The gifts will be distributed to the following organizations in time for their Christmas gatherings:

• Quincy Family Resource Center helps families to access and navigate resources in the local community.

• Wellspring provides support and skills to people facing challenge to their financial, physical and/or emotional well-being to help them achieve independence and self-sufficiency.

• South Shore Healthy Families offers home visiting services for young parents and their children, providing information about parenting and child development.

• Youth Programs of St. Stephen’s in Boston serve neighborhood children by providing them with a safe, challenging and supportive community in which they can thrive.