Neighborhood Outreach
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). Time and again in scripture, Jesus commands us to love one another. He’s never subtle about it! Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus demonstrated for us what it meant to tend to the sick, the suffering, and the outcast. He also tells us, as recorded in Matthew 25:40, that “Just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.” Whenever we feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, or visit the sick or imprisoned, we are serving Jesus himself. At St. John’s we live this out through a variety of outreach activities, with a special focus on a direct outreach within our neighborhood.
Dog Park at St. John's
At St. John’s Dog Park, there is a space where all furry friends are welcome to play and where neighbors can gather and enjoy one another’s company. We also host an annual Pet Blessing each October where we offer an opportunity for burial of pet cremains in our pet ashes garden. Surrounding the entire church grounds is an ADA-compliant walking space.
Community Garden
The Mayfair Heights Community Garden at St. John's is a new effort, in cooperation with our neighbors and nearby Mosaic Church and will yield seven raised beds and a pollinator garden. It will be open to everyone—a place to gather, grow, and cultivate community together.
Neighborhood Nursing Center
It's always great fun to join with our neighbors just across the street at the Brookline Nursing and Rehab Center for a joyful time of caroling during the Christmas season!
Beyond Our Neighborhood
We also support the ministries of other Episcopal churches such as Santa Maria Virgen, which distributes Thanksgiving turkeys each year and St. James, which distributes groceries monthly to its surrounding community. We also work with the Homeless Alliance, which serves those experiencing homelessness, and the Regional Food Bank, a large regional hunger-relief organization serving 53 counties in central and western Oklahoma.
The Daughters of the King have adopted Pivot - A Turning Point for Youth as their 2026 service project, collecting hygiene products and toiletries for unhoused youth ages 18+ who have aged out of the foster care system, only to find themselves on the streets within 6 months.
Our Loops of Love project began as a Prayer Shawl Ministry, but has expanded to include lap blankets, scarves, warm hats, and mittens, any handmade gifts really, that can bless others. Through the Teachers' Toolbox program we provide classroom supplies to teachers at D.D. Kirkland Early Childhood Education Center and James Monroe Elementary School.
There is always more we could be doing. Calls for event and donation collections are announced throughout the year. Father Andy and Deacon Lisa head up our Outreach efforts and are always open to suggestions of opportunities to be Jesus' hands and feet in the world.