In the days and weeks following Hurricane Harvey, St. John the Divine mobilized over 600 parishioners to serve the community and assist residents in cleanup and relief efforts. SJD has developed ongoing partnerships with other local organizations as we continue the work of disaster recovery, including World Vision, Faith Memorial Baptist Church in Houston’s Fifth Ward, and long-time partner Agape Development in the Third Ward.

St. John’s also recognizes the call felt by mission teams to serve in Houston. We are dedicating a portion of our facilities for dormitory use to house incoming teams from around the country who will be coming here to aid residents in their efforts to clean up and rebuild. SJD is partnering in this effort with Led2Serve, a non-profit organization which specializes in equipping, inspiring, and mobilizing mission teams. Led2Serve will offer customized Service Journeys to student and adult teams who will undertake meaningful community projects in Houston, using St. John the Divine as their ‘home base’.

As we prepare our facilities, mission teams are already forming. The first Led2Serve team arrived in Houston this week and are staying in a KOA campground on Lake Conroe. The 20-person team includes 12 young men from a Catholic military high school in Kansas, a single woman and a married couple and their three children from Orlando, and two brothers from Boston. Don Callender, SJD’s Mission Team Hosting Coordinator, worked with the team members from Orlando and Boston on Tuesday, painting the interior of a home that the Agape Repair Team rebuilt after it was destroyed by fire.

“We had three of the owner’s family members working with us: the niece, who did graduate work in political science at UH; her husband, who was a youth minister at Trinity Lutheran Church before retiring; and his brother-in-law who taught 8th grade history in his most recent career,” Don explained. “The mom and dad and their three kids from Orlando do a Thanksgiving trip annually, working Monday – Wednesday on a project like this, packing and serving food for those in need on Thursday morning, and then celebrating Thanksgiving together with the whole group that night. The father is an Opthalmic surgeon. One daughter is a tennis player, the other is a dancer. Their younger brother is still focused on annoying his big sisters. One of the brothers from Boston wants to be a Forest Ranger, the other is leaning toward marketing and graphic design.”

The team from Kansas, pictured below, is from St. John’s Military School in Salina, Kansas. The school was started by an Episcopal bishop in 1887. They spent the day working with the Agape repair team removing a roof from another house in the area.

St. John the Divine volunteers continue to serve our neighbors who were impacted by Harvey, providing pastoral care through the Shepherds program, financial assistance through the Harvey Relief Fund, and assistance with rebuilding and recovery through volunteer work teams. Our partnership with Led2Serve will extend our reach into the community through the long-term clean-up and rebuilding of our city, and help us to mobilize even more people to change lives for God in Christ.

[ See Original Article ]

ORLANDO, FLA. (PRWEB) NOVEMBER 20, 2017
Led2Serve, a 501(c)(3) organization, announced today the success of it’s partnership event with Basket Brigade Central Florida. Led2Serve was asked to oversee the organization, logistics, and volunteer teams to assist in BBCF’s 20th Annual food outreach effort. The Central Florida community once again came together to deliver tailor-made food baskets to the doors of families in need. Over 1,800 families were delivered Thanksgiving food baskets on Saturday, November 18th. Approximately three hundred local serve team members took part in this years event, making it the largest in the history of Basket Brigade Central Florida.

This international effort was created by Tony Robbins and was built on a simple option: one small act of generosity on the part of one caring person can transform the lives of hundreds. Founded by Joetta Raylots, 20 years ago, the Basket Brigade Central Florida event continues to touch the lives of many. People fill, decorate, and even donate for the creation and delivery of food baskets throughout the area.

Led2Serve partners with companies and outreach events such as Basket Brigade, as a continuation of it’s mission to equip, inspire, and mobilize people with a heart to serve, to serve others in their communities.
“We’re inspired to partner with any event, or company, with the heart and intention of serving others. Our corporate donor program now enables us to equip even more people to give of their time and efforts to support others,” stated Vanessa Puleo, Founder and Executive Director of Led2Serve.

Participation in making this BBCF event a success came from both individuals and school groups from Bishop Moore Catholic High School, Disney Performers, Lake Highland Preparatory School and the UCF Black Faculty and Staff Association. Corporate donors and sponsors for this event included Nuquest, Cox Media Group, Nejame Law, Centra Care, Abercrombie P.A., The Salvation Army, and 27Community Connection, to name a few.

[ See Press Release ]

SERVICE MISSION ~ JASPER, GA

What a super way to spend Valentine’s week! This team showed a lot of love to our partner camp in Jasper, Georgia. They installed new wood panelling on the walls of “Eagle Branch” at SharpTop Cove.

Project leaders helped to ensure that the team understood the scope of the work and also coached them during the week.

You can always learn a new skill on a Journey!

On our National Journey, your accommodations will always be immaculate and comfortable!