MINISTRIES

All ministry is about living into our core values, as listed on the "About Us" page. St. John's enjoys an extraordinarily high rate of lay participation in these ministries, and newcomers are encouraged-make that urged-to join in. Here are some of the ways in which St. John's makes a difference in people's lives.

Caring for others—revolves primarily around our Outreach Committee.  St. John’s allocates 5% of our normal budget to support outreach beyond our own community.  We try to allocate half of these moneys to local needs and half to national or international causes.  Locally, we support the Mountain Family Center, the Samaritan Fund, Habitat for Humanity, Heart of the Mountain Hospice, the annual high school baccalaureate, and offer free dinners throughout the ski season at Cranmer Chapel.  Our primary outreach beyond the valley is through the outstanding work of the Episcopal Relief and Development fund.  We support missionary work in Haiti, Kenya, and Europe, as well as outreach to the Christian Church in Jerusalem, Mary’s Hope (for survivors of childhood abuse), Episcopal Church Women, and Episcopal seminary development. Finally, throughout the year we regularly take up special collections for particular needs, both local and non-local, with special emphasis upon the Christmas season.  But it is not just a "checkbook" ministry. We have an active "Green Team," a school volunteer program, a Habitat for Humanity program, and a Highway clean-up program. Fr. Spencer serves on the boards of Heart of the Mountain Hospice and Habitat for Humanity, and many members donate time and talent to these and other local charities.

With the opening of our new facilities several years ago, we are now able to make St. John’s facilities available for community groups to use.  We are delighted that groups using St. John’s on either a regular or occasional basis include: the Grand Chorale, Heart of the Mountain Hospice, Habitat for Humanity, Love and Logic workshops,  East Grand High School Transition Program, Grand County Department of Social Services, Advocates' Victms Assistance Team, Colorado West Regional Mental Health, Grand Futures, P.E.O., Mountain Family Center, and others. 

Nurturing our own—provides support for those at St. John’s in need of nurturing, primarily our children.  We provide nursery and Sunday School up through the primary school grades, as well as visits to hospitals, shut-ins, and meals for those temporarily house-bound.  We pray regularly for one another in worship, our own personal prayers, and through the prayer chain. While we have always nurtured our own in these ways, we have recently "institutionalized" this ministry in the formation of "Martha's Table," under the direction of the Junior Warden.

Worshiping with quality—Fr. Spencer, with the assistance of the Worship Committee, draws on the riches of the Anglican liturgical tradition to design a worship service that touches the hearts and the minds of our members.  We offer a contemporary Book of Common Prayer service, both traditional and contemporary music, and thoughtful sermons in the context of an intimate and beautiful sanctuary with views of our glorious mountains.  We are blessed with marvelous acoustics, and we try, often unsuccessfully, to avoid the sin of pride when it comes to our singing. There are many opportunities to participate in our services, including as ushers, greeters, readers, acolytes, and altar guild.

Inquiring into meaning and truth—the Anglican tradition has always honored education and the exercise of reason.  Fr. Spencer draws on his background as college professor and academic publisher to offer rich and varied adult education programs.  These programs are often augmented by presentations from scholars from Front Range academic institutions.  Recent adult education offerings have included “Old Testament History and Politics for Dummies,”  “C.S. Lewis and the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” “Explorations in Prayer,” “Topics in Anglican history,” “Forgiveness,” and “The Nicene Creed.”  There are currently two active Bible Study programs at St. John’s.

Celebrating all of life—It is part of our lore at St. John’s that our first Holy Eucharist was held in a bar on Lake Granby, and we have always valued having a good time together.  In addition to a noisy coffee hour, we have an active “activities group” program, three lively potluck dinner and music nights per year, occasional movie programs, an annual ice cream social, summer boat rides and picnics, a festive outdoor St. Francis Day blessing of the animals service, and occasional “work” parties around decorating the church for special occasions. 

Sharing the joy of this life with others—Episcopalians do not have a reputation for evangelism, but we work to overcome this tendency with active invitations to the community to join in our activities, an evangelism committee, a missional church discussion group, and teachings on sharing one's faith with others.

Whatever your interests, you will find at St. John’s people who share them and programs in which to engage them.