Salt & Light : Meets on the 3rd Thursday of the month in various homes. This is is a group for the 'maturer' members of St.Johns. They meet for coffee and an informal session of sharing each other's news and prayer needs. A short bible study then leads into discussion and a chance to put what has been learnt into context with their experiences of life and hopes for the future.
St Johns Church believes in the importance of Mission giving, so here are some details of the three missions that we support both with our gifts and prayers. We hope you will all feel able to support these Charities as they are all working hard to do the Lords work. Please pray for them all, and remember, HE has no other hands but our hands!
If you would like more information on our Mission Groups or would like to help/contribute in any way, please contact Glenys by using our contacts page.
This is a local group to help those in need in the Maidstone area. They supply a hot meal daily for the homeless and also have facilities for them to be able to shower and wash their clothes. Medical care and such things as hairdressers are also available. In the near future a hostel will be opened for those who have nowhere else to sleep. Food from the Harvest Festival goes to them along with the collection from our Carol Service and a collection of Christmas gifts is also made for those who have little to celebrate over the Christmas period.
The Mission Aviation Fellowship is a mission group who are based in Folkstone, they provide and support small aircraft whose pilots take them into some of the most inhospitable places in the third world.
In addition to medical supplies, food and educational material these aircraft can carry not only those in need of urgent medical help but goods that the people of these regions need to sell to make a living. Doctors are also flown to areas where they are most needed for eye operations and many other medical emergencies. All this is done in the name of our Lord Jesus to help spread the good news of his love for us all. The money we collect helps to support two of the staff who work in IT, they are the Waugh Family. We have two collections for them, one for the support of the whole Waugh family and a children's collection to help with such things as the two sons educational needs.
The Evangelical Alliance Relief Fund or Tear Fund as it is known is probably the best known of our three missions, although you will never see it advertised anywhere as it is purely Church supported. It is a mission given to helping in any area of need and is more an umbrella organisation supporting local Churches all over the world and helping to provide those in poorer countries sell their goods at a reasonable market price and not be undercut by large commercial businesses. They, like M.A.F., will be in the forefront of bringing relief to any area stricken by a disaster, whether this be natural or man-made. To support Tear Fund we have a sale of cards and gifts in November and our own Christmas card appeal.
