St. John's Episcopal Church

St. John's Church hosts several meetings each week for AA and NA; they have consistently done so for 60 years. There are many stories of people who were saved from addictions by the meetings at St. John’s Church and her hospitality. This is St. John's oldest ministry and was established with the church.

AA Meetings/NA Meeting

Monday:
12 noon – 1:15pm: St. John’s Noon
8:00pm – 9:15pm:  Step/Big Book Study

Tuesday:
6:45am – 8:00am    Morning Reflections
12 noon – 1:15pm  St. John’s Noon
8:00pm – 9:15pm Intensive Care

Wednesday:
12 noon – 1:15am  St. John’s Noon
8:00pm   Narcotics Anonymous

Thursday:
6:45am – 8:00am Morning Reflections
12 noon – 1:15pm St. John’s Noon
8:00pm – 9:15pm EJ Renegades    

Friday:
12 noon – 1:15pm St. John’s Noon

Saturday:
2:00pm – 3:15pm St. John’s Noon
8:00pm – 9:15pm Saturday Night Discussion Group

Sunday:
8:00pm – 9:15pm  Sunday Night Live

Hours of operation:

Several meeting throughout the week

About AA:

Alcoholics Anonymous® is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. http://www.aa.org

About NA:

Narcotics Anonymous is a global, community-based organization with a multi-lingual and multicultural membership. NA was founded in 1953, and our membership growth was minimal during our initial twenty years as an organization. Since the publication of our Basic Text in 1983, the number of members and meetings has increased dramatically. Today, NA members hold more than 61,000 meetings weekly in 129 countries. We offer recovery from the effects of addiction through working a twelve-step program, including regular attendance at group meetings. The group atmosphere provides help from peers and offers an ongoing support network for addicts who wish to pursue and maintain a drug-free lifestyle. Our name, Narcotics Anonymous, is not meant to imply a focus on any particular drug; NA’s approach makes no distinction between drugs including alcohol. Membership is free, and we have no affiliation with any organizations outside of NA including governments, religions, law enforcement groups, or medical and psychiatric associations. Through all of our service efforts and our cooperation with others seeking to help addicts, we strive to reach a day when every addict in the world has an opportunity to experience our message of recovery in his or her own language and culture. http://www.na.org/

Parishioner, Rick Schmidt from St. John's bring Communion to all Episcopalians at East Jefferson General Hospital each week.

Parishioners from St. John's Episcopal Church visit the Kenner area nursing homes to play guitars and sing to the residents around Christmas time.

There are presently many members of the St. John's congregation with military experience. Each week the names of the fallen soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan are read during the the prayers of the people. St. John's has a memorial board displaying photos of young fallen soldiers from the church, along with other members who returned safely from war in the Middle East. Because most of the people of the church were either in the military or had family members in the military, St. John's has established a Veteran's Ministry. Programs include:

Care Packages for Wounded Soldiers: Care packages are sent to soldiers recovering in hospitals in Germany and Afghanistan and include sweatpants, hoodie, toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, candy, and gum.  We also have members put together packages to give to the VA Medical Center for homeless veterans.  Volunteers from St. John's Church helped the VA Homeless Stand-Down in New Orleans to greet and assist the veterans to find the medical providers and dental care that was available that day.  Some volunteers gave out food and clothing.

Veterans Forum: St. John's holds forums dedicated to helping our returning veterans. Event includes free information from a variety of sources for veterans and their family members and talks are given by a distinguished list of speakers covering topics such as veterans benefits, medical care for returning veterans, PTSD and TBI, homeless veterans, treatment for incarcerated veterans, and housing needs.

Camp Kindness: (In the planning stages) St. John’s Episcopal Church has assisted about 25 formally homeless veterans to furnish their new apartments last year with all furniture, lamps, tables and chairs, TVs, kitchen items, beds, sheets/blankets, pots, pans and everything needed to make a house a home. We have provided cleaning supplies and mops/brooms for veterans to use in their new homes.  We offer gift cards from local food stores and fast food restaurants for hungry veterans and their families.  St. John's has provided school uniforms and book bags for 8 to 10 children of veterans.  

CAMP KINDNESS is the dream of St. John's Church to offer a small space to offer respite to veterans recovering from the visible and invisible wounds of war.  One day we would like to accommodate about 8 veterans to offer comfort, solace and a spiritual retreat from the turmoil of the world they are used to living in. 

Advocacy and Public Awareness of Veteran's Suicide:  St. John's placed 22 American flags in front of the church for several months with the national suicide hotline for veterans to call as every day in America, 22 veterans die from taking their own lives. 

Contact person:

Deacon Charmaine Kathmann

St. John's Church has many of our hymns sung in both Spanish and English (alternating verses) and the readings are also in Spanish.  In the next year we plan on having Spanish language services.  In the past three years we had two Spanish services each year and hopefully we can add more services in 2015.  Our adult Bible study includes Spanish and English speakers and there are many translators present.

St. John's worship services are lively with guitar music and drums, bells and shakers.  The music is both English traditional Episcopal hymns, Spanish hymns and also songs from Lift Every Voice and Sing.  St. John's also has her own song book of folk music and praise songs to make a joyful sound for the Lord.  We regularly have children's plays at church about once a month and we also have Eucharist and Morning Prayer services.