We at St. John's hold the following commitments:
social justice
We are committed to working for equity in our congregation, community, and world.
Our Social Justice team is currently leading us in grappling with how we and the parish have benefited from enslavement. We regularly take action on public policy that focuses on issues like LGBTQ+ or immigrant rights. We host and participate in trainings, documentary screenings, and theatrical productions on issues like the prison system, anti-racism, gun safety, and implicit bias.
We also partner with many local organizations working for social justice: the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute and their Mother’s Day Walk For Peace, Freedom Massachusetts, Bread for the World, the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry, Open Theater Project, and more.
music & arts
Music and arts deepen our spiritual life and our connection to the Holy Spirit and to each other.
In our services, the organ or piano welcomes us into the sanctuary dappled in stained glass rainbows, hymns bring us together and fill our hearts, our choir sings blessings. In some seasons, art by our parishioners gives a visual to our communal spiritual life. And on a capella Sundays, we worship in song without the piano or organ, just our voices coming together in praise.
Outside of services, St. John’s is a home to musicians and artists in the larger community. We are the home base for Open Theatre Project, a company that builds community through bold, inclusive storytelling, and A Far Cry, Jamaica Plain’s own Grammy award winning chamber orchestra. JP Concerts offers performances at St. John’s, bringing in musicians from around the world.
providing refuge in times of need
At St. John’s we offer respite and healing.
We are open and affirming to anyone seeking a Christian congregation that will accept them in their wholeness. We welcome doubt and questioning, because without these, faith is hollow. Our Lay Pastoral Care team holds space after services to pray and be prayed for in confidence. If a member of our congregation is struggling or in need, our clergy and parishioners step in to help.
For our wider community, we host regular AA meetings for those seeking refuge and transformation through community with others struggling with addiction.
CARE OF CREATION
Our faith asks us to find wonder in Creation, and the compassion to respond to the needs of others. We are committed to protecting the earth, its life, and its people. Our faith calls us to have the courage to take action for justice in our world, and wisdom to choose ways of living which are good for future generations and the health of the earth.
rich and welcoming liturgy
At St. John’s, we embrace traditional liturgy and progressive theology. The ritual of liturgy is an embodied spiritual practice. Sacraments like Baptism and Holy Communion feed our faith and connect us to hundreds of generations of people who have practiced this liturgy and worked to love God and each other more fully. We also believe that following Christ is about love, and that the Biblical story is one of God calling believers to be blessings to one another.
We work to support and nurture the Episcopal Church through and beyond our parish. St. John’s is part of the larger Episcopal Church, and the work of our parish is entwined with the larger Diocese. We often serve as a teaching parish providing experience to seminarians and curates. We have sponsored many candidates for Holy Orders. We raise up women and LGBTQ+ people in positions of lay and ordained leadership, both within our walls and in the wider church.