Purpose and Mission of St. John’s Third World Apostolate
St. John’s Third World Apostolate was established to serve God’s poor without regard to nationality, race or creed. Its mission is to promote awareness in the parish of the needs of the poor, to encourage parishioners to become personally involved in helping the poor, and to provide assistance to needy persons mainly in developing countries but also in our own. Since its inception, the Apostolate has supported various overseas projects through the auspices of Catholic missionaries and organizations working in Africa, Haiti, Honduras, the Philippines and South America (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruqary) and has provided direct assistance to our sister parish in the Dominican Republic. Locally, the Apostolate has assisted the Mustard Seed Catholic Worker House in Worcester.
In short our Apostolate’s mission is to remind ourselves and all St. John’s parishioners of our responsibility as Christians to make the love and care of the poor a priority in our lives.
Activities and Projects Sponsored by the Apostolate
The Giving Tree is a popular Advent tradition at St. John’s. For us, Advent has become a time to remember the good work that the Catholic Church does to help those most in need in other parts of the world. So many hard working priests, nuns, students, and lay parishioners—many with their families—leave behind the comforts of home to live and work among the poor in other lands. They teach, provide health care, feed, clothe, build schools and churches, provide jobs, and improve the living standards in many communities around the world. The Giving Tree is one way to educate ourselves about the work they do, and help support them not only financially, but also with a card of acknowledgement, encouragement and gratitude. Paper ornaments in various shapes designated by project are hung on The Giving Tree. Parishioners choose to support a project based on the information contained on the ornament as well as from a more detailed document describing the various projects. This past Advent, gifts went to the poor in Africa, Haiti, Mexico, Ecuador and Peru, as well as the homeless here in Worcester.
Many parishioners (including children) wrote or made Christmas cards or notes to the overseas missionaries expressing their gratitude for their work with the poor as well as messages of encouragement for their continued efforts.
In the past through The Giving Tree, we learned about and gave gifts or donated funds for:
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Health Promoter Training Scholarships in Cochamba, Bolivia – a scholarship pays the cost of training someone from a rural community in basic health care. These health promoters treat infections, check for malnutrition, teach proper hygiene, ensure that medication is taken properly and alert the nearest clinic if someone is seriously ill. The Health Promoters in turn teach and train others in their community. St. John’s also purchased a centrifuge for a clinic there.
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A small motorbike for a priest on the Island of Ile a Vache (Cow Island) off the coast of Haiti to carry out his work which includes the management of schools, visits with sick parishioners and the maintenance of a number of wells and water collections stations. A year later gift donations were also solicited to purchase gutters for 100 rural homes on Ile a Vache for collection of drinking water. In the past St. John’s has sponsored multiple well drilling projects on that island.
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A maternity unit in Ecuador which serves poor patients, many with HIV/AIDS;
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A micro-finance project in the Philippines which provides small loans to poor families to help improve their earning capacity;
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Insecticide treat mosquito nets and HIV testing kits for a school in Zambia;
Over the years, St. John’s has also collected medicines, vitamins, school supplies and recreational equipment for children in developing countries as well as clothing and gift certificates for food and shoes for the Mustard Seed Catholic Worker House in Worcester.
The Child Sponsorship Program is the Apostolate’s major effort to help poor children around the globe. This annual event is our opportunity to directly help children in developing countries by assisting with education-related costs.
Over the years, we have augmented the cost of tuition, books, uniforms and school supplies and in some missions have paid teacher salaries for a specific period of time. St. John’s has also helped to renovate and repair a schoolroom in Bolivia and helped furnish a new nursery school with tables, chairs, benches, supplies and some toys in Cameroon.
Many parishioners are currently sponsoring children through the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA), a Catholic lay organization. Through direct sponsorship of a child, parishioners are paying for tuition, books, and supplies, medical and dental checkups and in some cases food for the family as needed. CFCA works in 24 developing nations. Please visit CFCA at www.cfcausa.org.
In many developing countries due to limited financial support from their governments, families bear the cost of most, if not all costs, associated with educating their children. This means they must pay for books, uniforms and all school supplies and frequently all or part of tuition costs. Depending on their economic reality, many families cannot afford to pay school costs resulting in lost educational opportunities for their children continuing the cycle of poverty. Public health research has clearly demonstrated that even just completing primary school (especially for girls) markedly improves a child’s chances for a healthier adult life. And statistics tell us that just one year of primary school can increase wages in adult life 5 to 15% for boys and more for girls.
Projects supported over the years include missions in Bolivia, Haiti, Honduras, the Philippines and Zambia, the South American missionary work of St. James the Apostle, and Fr. Henault`s mission on Ile a Vache (an island) off the coast of Haiti.
Annually, St. John’s collects bicycles for the Bikes-Not-Bombs (BNB) program located in Jamaica Plain, MA. Through this program, bicycles are donated and shipped to bicycle projects in Guatemala, Ghana, the Caribbean, South Africa and Tanzania (and New Orleans). BNB currently receives approximately 5,000 used bicycles and tons of used parts each year. They ship a major portion of these bikes to economic development projects (micro-enterprise bike businesses, sustainable technology projects, Earn-A-Bike and youth training programs) empowering individuals and their communities with efficient transportation and economic opportunity. BNB also sends technicians and tools for start-up projects in developing countries.
BNB uses the remainder of the collected bikes at their Jamaica Plan center; some are used in their co-ed youth Earn-A- Bike programs and others are repaired by teenage mechanics as part of vocational training programs and are for sale at BNB’s bike shop.
St. John’s collected over 350 bicycles for this organization through their 2006 collection efforts setting a new record for the organization. This past October, 2008, St. John’s collected 118 bikes for BNB. To learn more about Bikes Not Bombs go to www.bikesnotbombs.org.
Rebuilding of Our Lady of the Snows Church near La Paz, Bolivia was a special project of the Apostolate in 2004. The old church was a mud and hay chapel located in a very poor and remote village and collapsed during a storm. A new and sturdier church was designed as a replacement. St. John’s contributed $11,000 for construction materials and with the help of local labor, a beautiful new church and courtyard was constructed.
Our Sister Parish is the Parish of San Antonio in Higuey, Dominican Republic. St. John’s has helped them with construction costs for a cultural and vocational training center and has donated used computer equipment, sewing machines and supplies, hairdressing equipment, school books, recreational gear and numerous supplies.
Parish Involvement
Whenever possible the Apostolate tries to involve the parish community in service activities related to its mission. This past Advent 7th grade religious education students helped with The Giving Tree by decorating cut out paper ornaments to be hung on the Giving Tree.
As part of their involvement with The Giving Tree, the 7th graders learned about some of the problems facing the poor in relation to the mission projects represented. They learned about some of the major problems affecting developing countries, first and foremost, lack of adequate food supplies leading to malnutrition. They learned that malnutrition can lead to frequent illnesses, faltering growth and diminished learning ability as well as cause early death. They also learned about the lack of infrastructure in developing countries (very limited clean water and public sanitation, electricity, medical care and limited access to educational opportunities) as compared with the infrastructure and services we so easily take for granted here in the United States.
In past years, parishioners have joined Third World members in sorting and distributing gifts received through The Giving Tree to South America and the Mustard Seed in Worcester.
During our annual bike collection last Fall, twelve 9th graders and adult members of TESTAMENT volunteered to flatten the bikes for shipment by removing and turning the pedals, turning the handlebars sideways, and lowering the seats to prepare the bikes for shipment overseas.
All St. John parishioners are invited to join in the Third World Apostolate’s efforts to serve those most in need in developing countries.
Meetings and Membership of the Apostolate
The Apostolate meets one evening every month in the Parish Center Library. Interested parishioners are always welcome to attend. For more information about the Apostolate, please contact Marie Buckley, Pastoral Associate of St. John’s at 508-435-3313, x 206.
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