Rev. Travis E. Kern, DMin, Pastor

Service & Outreach

At St. John’s, our hands-on service projects are local.

Feeding the Hungry

In the summer of 2021, St. John’s launched a new feeding ministry, Nurture our Neighbor. St. John’s serves its neighbors directly with a monthly food distribution. We are collecting various food items to stock our food pantry. Bags, boxes, cans, and plastic jars are preferred (no glass).

The following items can be brought to the church on Sunday mornings and put in the bins in the Narthex:

  • Rice
  • Beans – dry and canned, black or pinto preferred
  • Cereal and/or Oatmeal
  • Macaroni and cheese
  • Pasta
  • Pasta sauce and/or Canned Tomatoes
  • Canned Vegetables
  • Canned tuna or chicken
  • Canned Fruit and/or Applesauce
  • Graham crackers

We are also collecting allergy-sensitive donations of SunButter and gluten free pasta. In addition, there are several “extra” items that we like to have available for our neighbors to take if they wish. This includes items such as spices, oil, flour, masa, rice flour, sugar, coffee, or teaHousehold cleaning items and toiletries are also useful.

Meals and Wheels

Throughout the year St. John’s provides meals to the Interfaith Works Women’s Center by providing “5th Friday” Dinners. On the 5th Friday of the month (for those months with five Fridays), St. John’s provides dinner to the women at the shelter. St. John’s also supplies breakfast items for the following Saturday morning.

Another meal ministry that St. John’s has participated in is the provision of the occasional Sunday evening meal to the students in Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Maryland.

St. John’s members also provide meals to individuals and families who needed extra support during illness or ongoing treatment, those recovering from surgery, and for families in times of grief. Our members have also volunteered to drive to medical appointments and to shop for others.

Supporting Our Senior Community

St. John’s is active in supporting the residents of the Village at Rockville (formerly the National Lutheran Home). Many St. John’s members participate in The Auxiliary of The Village at Rockville

“God’s Work. Our Hands.”

We participate annually in our “God’s work. Our hands” service project. Together with our friends and neighbors, St. John’s works on a project to help our community, supporting our neighbors in need.
More about “God’s work. Our hands” 

Prayer Shawl Ministry

The Prayer Shawl Ministry provides knitted and crocheted items to those in need of the prayers and comfort of St. John’s.
More about the Prayer Shawl Ministry >>

Providing Meeting Space

St. John’s also provides meeting space for a variety of groups, including:

  • Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meets on Monday and Thursday nights at 8:00 pm weekly.
  • AA Women meets Saturday at 9:00 am weekly.
  • 4-H Lucky Clovers meets the third Friday of the month at 6:30 pm.
  • Garden Club meets on the third Thursday of the month at 10:00 am.
  • Girl Scouts meet every other Sunday.

Monthly Benevolence Offerings

St. John’s provides the opportunity to support various other causes through monthly offerings (in the pink envelopes). This year, we’re supporting the following groups with these offerings: