St. John's, Norwood

Nourishing Bethesda began during 2020 as food insecurity in Montgomery County grew drastically in the midst of the pandemic. With the help of numerous community partners and about 50 volunteers each week, Nourishing Bethesda feeds multiple meal's worth of groceries to an average of 1,300 people every week, including some 500 children. Our food distribution takes place every Friday from 1-3pm at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad.

Learn more about this initiative and how you can get involved at https://www.nourishingbethesda.org/

St. John’s partner with Shepherd’s Table eon the 4th Sunday of each month as part of Outreach Sunday. St. John’s teams shop and deliver ingredients, cooking chili and serving dinner to those experiencing homelessness at Shepherd’s Table in Silver Spring, Maryland.  Contact Julia Andrews, parishioner.

Located in downtown Silver Spring, Shepherd’s Table serves individuals from all walks of life, experiencing a unique set of challenges, from homelessness, unemployment, mental health challenges, substance abuse, physical disabilities, and more. Shepherd’s Table, along with partner agencies and the County, is working towards preventing and ending homelessness for all residents, one person at a time. Since 1983, Shepherd’s Table has been a necessary and effective resource welcoming and serving those in need within Silver Spring, and is largely supported by private donations from individuals, businesses, foundations, and religious organizations. Located in a building owned by Montgomery County, we also receive financial support from Montgomery County and the Maryland Emergency Food Program.

A St. John’s team prepares a meal for homeless women in transition at the Interfaith Works Women’s Community-Based Shelter in Rockville, Maryland for one week twice a year, usually in February and August. 

The Interfaith Works Women’s Center is a 70-bed emergency shelter serving approximately 300 women per year. Case managers work with women to facilitate recovery and stability, as well as connect them with housing, medical, mental health, and social services.

Sacred Ground is dialogue series on race, grounded in faith.  Small groups are invited to walk through chapters of America’s history of race, racism, and whiteness while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity. The 10-part series is built around a powerful online curriculum of documentary films and readings that focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with European American histories.

Sacred Ground is a resource coming out of Becoming Beloved Community, The Episcopal Church’s long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation, and justice in our personal lives, our ministries, and our society.  This series is especially designed to help white people talk with other white people, while being open to all racial/ethnic groups.  Participants are invited to peel away the layers that have contributed to the challenges and divides of the present day – all while grounded in our call to faith, hope and love.

St. John's is currently training a group of parishioners to lead Sacred Ground circles and hopes to begin offering the Sacred Ground curriculum to small groups of parishioners and community members in the near future.

The St. John's Social Justice Advocacy Committee oversees a broad array of St. John's social justice efforts, including the realms of fighting food insecurity, countering voter suppression, preventing gun violence, engaging local leaders on police reform, and promoting peace in the Holy Land. Our social justice efforts include opportunities for learning, advocacy, and volunteering.

Specific sub-groups include:

The Gun Violence Prevention (GVP) group, which works to prevent and reduce gun violence through prayer, education, and action. 

The Holy Land Committee (HLC), which works to promote education, support humanitarian projects related to the Holy Land, and engage in advocacy and in activities which deepen connections among Christians, Muslims, and Jews. 

St. John’s has a long tradition of supporting refugee families, including two from Vietnam in the early 1980s, and in recent years, families from Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and from Gaza. Volunteers help find and furnish housing, raise funds, tutor, organize medical care and employment, and help in financial planning. Contact Nancy Adams or Brooke Lindsay.