he people of St. John’s have declared
outreach to be one of the most important things we do. We provide outreach
to the local community by giving food to a nearby food cupboard and we
have adopted a family with school age children. We host bi-monthly luncheons
for local senior citizens. We serve the national community by sending
care packages to our soldiers overseas. The international community benefits
from our outreach efforts to Seamen’s Church Institute, a new school
in Ghana, the Tsunami Relief Effort, and our companion diocese in Guatemala.
St. John’s outreach effort over the last year has grown! We have targeted three main areas: the local community, the national community, and the world-wide community. This year we donated non-perishable food to a local food cupboard about every two months. We adopted a small family in the Buckingham School District that we will help as they need it. We bought them Christmas presents and some much-needed winter clothing. One of our parishioners also prepared and delivered Christmas Eve dinner.
Our annual collection of “Toys for Tots” was great! The service was well attended, there were lots of fun toys, and the toy train was a hit. There is a large collection of clothes, videos and puzzles that will be given to the Seamen’s Mission Church. We will arrange another visit from their chaplain in the near future. We collected and donated school supplies to a school in Ghana (this is also ongoing.) At the end of the 2004 school year we ended a year-long campaign of bake sales by our youth to support our companion diocese in Guatemala.
Many St. John’s parishioners organized and contributed to these efforts. Not one of us could have done it alone. Thanks to all!
The Nexus School:
In the spring of 2004, St. John's was approached by a couple looking to
open a school for autistic children. Viewing it as a perfect use of our
available space and a wonderful way to enable us to serve our community,
we opened our doors to The Nexus School. Following is the 2005 winter
update written by Nexus staff to our parishioners..."
The Nexus School received Pennsylvania State licensure as a Private Academic School last August and hit the ground running with a two-week staff and parent training located in St. John’s Parish Hall. When our doors opened in September, we had two classrooms, six children ready to learn, and skilled staff of six.
As we rolled into October, the children enjoyed raking leaves at St. John’s, going on a field trip to Kohler Farms, and getting to see a sixteen-wheel truck deliver long-awaited playground equipment. October also saw TNS host a conference on Autism in the Family, which was well attended by the public and members of St. John’s. Catering was deliciously provided by Betsy Bernert.
Some of the children also got to meet parishioners attending St. John’s Senior Luncheon in October.
November was Native American month for our Social Development Class who enjoyed a trip to Lenape Village. To top off the month, the Nexus School students gleefully watched an 18-wheeler unload a full trailer of wood chips for our new playground. Heavy rains caused the truck to get stuck, and the chips were dumped 40 feet from the playground rather than in it. Fortunately, St. John’s parishioners came to the rescue, helping school staff and parents cart wheel barrel of chips. (Everyone wants to know what supplements Charlie and Sharon Keyser take, as the put the rest of us to shame working tirelessly ‘till sundown.)
Special thanks to Guy and Ruth who give the staff and children warm smiles each day and never bat an eye when the occasional howl of a child fills the halls of St. John’s. Our Special thanks also go to Gloria Wood for volunteering her time and special education expertise every Wednesday while she completes her Master’s degree in Education at Chestnut Hill College.
In the coming months we will turn part of our focus to fundraising. While a couple of families have secured funding from their school districts, the rest have been denied funding. We would like to broaden our funding base beyond that of our founders. Any help/suggestions in this endeavor would be greatly welcomed and appreciated.
The Nexus School children have been making great strides developmentally these past few months. Parents and professionals who visited the school have been impressed. Word of TNS has even reached California!
We feel blessed by the open hearts we’ve encountered and the outpouring of kindness we’ve received at St. John’s Church. With your support as our springboard, we look forward to serving more children in this needy population.