St John's looks outward to the needs of the world in evangelism and social justice. We do this in several ways.
St John's has a tradition of supporting mission and charitable organizations. During the last financial year there have been gifts made to the work of the Church overseas, including Leprosy Mission, Practical Action, Mission to Seafarers and the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Nearer home there have been extra contributions to poorer parishes within Sheffield Diocese, the Cathedral Archer Project, St Luke's Hospice, Sheffield Family Holiday Fund and many others.
Members of the congregation have done voluntary work for lots of different organizations, including Financial Inclusion Services Yorkshire (a not-for-profit ethical loan company) Homestart, Sheffield Family Holiday Fund and Phoenix House (a drug rehabilitation centre within the parish which the church was involved in setting up). The church has also supported these organizations financially.
St John's also supports the work of CMS (the Church Mission Society) and is linked with Roger and Diana Wild who are our mission partners. Roger is an Anglican clergyman and Diana a special-needs teacher and reader. They have more than thirty years experience of parish ministry in the UK, including work with young people within parishes in Yorkshire and leading Pathfinder Ventures and other holiday activities for older teenagers. Having been trained at Crowther Hall in Birmingham, they have been serving in theological education at Trinity Theological College in Singapore in South-East Asia since September 2002.
The Parish Centre regularly hosts a wide variety of community activities: clubs and lunches for the elderly, bridge groups, a theatre group, performances in the small amphitheatre, community action and local political party meetings, children's parties – to mention but a few of the activities!
St John’s supports Christian Aid, a charity that funds projects in some of the world's poorest countries. Set up in 1945 by churches in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Christian Aid helps people to improve their own lives and to tackle the causes of poverty and injustice. In Christian Aid week each year there is an organised collection for Christian Aid, covering the whole parish.
In 2005, a new church group, ‘D8’, was set up. The purpose of this group acts on development and world poverty issues. It has been instrumental in developing a Fair Trade Guide for Shopping in South West Sheffield. The church has regular fair trade sales, and is active in using only fairly traded products when possible. Contact the Parish Office for further information.