A parishioner-established Not-for-Profit organization housed on premises at St. John’s, this ministry supports women and men re-entering the work force and in need of assistance with appropriate clothing to do so. Those seeking business attire need to be referred by a participating agency and to make an appointment with the Business Boutique. A secondary focus of the Boutique is the Back-to-School program that provides backpacks and school supplies to needy children in the Fall. Call (631) 427-1752 extension 22.

 

This is a Town-wide program in which some 40 houses of worship get together to feed and house the homeless during the cold weather, generally November through March. To date, St. John’s has contributed, prepared and served meals in partnership with a nearby church that provides the shelter.

 

St. John’s has a long-standing commitment of providing space to AA. The group currently meets on the church premises three times a week - Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 1:00 pm, and Mondays at 7:00 pm. For further information about the AA, your may contact its Suffolk County 24 hour hotline (631) 669-1124, or check out the Patchogue Suffolk Intergroup Association website at:
www.suffolkny-aa.org

 

Operation Christmas Child

St. John's participates in this annual program which is part of Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse. This ministry brings joy and hope to children in impoverished countries around the world through gift-filled shoeboxes and the good news of God's love. Our parishioners have been assembling and shipping these shoeboxes for 10 years, and for the past several years we have been an "Official Drop-off" location for other local churches, community groups in the area, as well as members of the general public.Always the week before Thanksgiving in November, our volunteers receive in these shoeboxes and pack them in large cartons, which are then loaded onto a truck on "Pack Up the Truck Sunday". They are then driven to another location on Long Island from which they are loaded into the BIG trucks to begin their journey to the North Carolina processing center, which then sends them on their way to their final destinations into the hands of children around the world!

This shoebox ministry, begun by a British layman in Wales in 1990 and adopted by Samaritan's Purse in 1993, has collected and distributed some 100 million shoeboxes to needy children in 149 countries and territories. In addition to the impact the program has on so many lives, as repeated in countless stories, it's exciting to be part of such a tremendous worldwide community effort.