Service and Outreach – St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

Service and Outreach Opportunites with Partakers, Ignatian Volunteer Corps, and A Faith That Does Justice

Partakers: Partakers works every day to reduce prison recidivism through essential educational opportunities, key skills training, and the power of community and Mentor relationships.

Ignatian Volunteer Corps: The Ignatian Volunteer Corps (IVC) connects adults 50+ with community-based organizations where they make a meaningful impact through long-term service and spiritual growth.

A Faith That Does Justice: A Faith That Does Justice welcomes people of all backgrounds to put their faith into action to create a more just world.

May 9-10: Our Annual “Baby Shower” for Pregnancy Help

On Mother’s Day Weekend our Collaborative will be hosting a “Baby Shower” to collect items for Pregnancy Help Boston, a pregnancy resource center supported through the Archdiocese of Boston, whose mission is to provide compassionate, practical, life-affirming alternatives for women facing crisis pregnancies.

Since January, dedicated parishioners have been knitting and crocheting baby items for newborns (hats, blankets, etc.) Now, all are invited to consider contributing items to our Mother’s Day Baby Shower collection! Please see below for their “Registry”…

An Update on Our 2026 Collaborative Lenten Gift

The St. John-St. Paul Service Commission hopes that you all had a joyous Easter and are carrying the graces of the Resurrection into the season ahead! To add to that joy, we want to pass along a preliminary total for our 2026 Lenten Gift collection. As of last week, St. John and St. Paul Parishes have raised nearly $25,000 for MassBay Community College Foundation in support of the Textbook Assistance Fund.

Donations still continue to come in and will be accepted through the end of April on our website at which point we will present our gift to the Foundation. Thank you for your support for this wonderful cause and your heartfelt support of our neighbors at MassBay!

Another Chance to Come Knit With Us! This Saturday, April 18 from 1:30-3pm at St. John

Our “Knit Together with Care” group has been gathering regularly to support one another in their knitting efforts for our Collaborative Baby Shower to benefit Pregnancy Help Boston – building community and making baby blankets!

If you’d like to join the group, they will gather again next on Saturday, April 18 from 1:30-3:30PM in the Collaborative Boardroom at the St. John Parish Center.

Saturday, April 11: “Knit Together with Care” Group at St. John

Our “Knit Together with Care” group has been gathering regularly to support one another in their knitting efforts for our Collaborative Baby Shower to benefit Pregnancy Help Boston – building community and making baby blankets!

If you’d like to join the group, they will gather this Saturday, April 11 from 1:30-3:30PM in the Collaborative Boardroom at the St. John Parish Center.

SVdP Home Visits

Our St. John-St. Paul SVdP brought palms, flowers, friendship, and prayer to members of our Collaborative community who are homebound for Palm Sunday.

A prayer service that included the blessing of the palms and special guest speaker, Tom Dwyer, Executive Director of A Faith That Does Justice, sent volunteers forth into the community.

“Knit Together With Care” for Pregnancy Help Boston!

Knitters near and far are hard at work making homemade wares for our Collaborative Baby Shower to benefit Pregnancy Help Boston. Our “Knit Together with Care” group has been gathering regularly to support one another in their knitting efforts – building community and making baby blankets!

If you’re interested in joining the group, they’ll gather next on Saturday, April 11th from 1:30-3:30PM in the Collaborative Boardroom at the St. John Parish Center.

Saturday, March 28 at 9:00am: Prayer Service at St. John with St. Vincent de Paul

SVdP Wellesley Annual Easter visits to the homebound on behalf of our Collaborative will take place on Saturday, March 28. Our pre-visit Prayer Service will be held at 9:00am in the Chapel and Powers Hall at St. John the Evangelist Church.

We invite all members of the Collaborative to attend and we have a special guest speaker, Tom Dwyer, Executive Director of A Faith That Does Justice, who will speak on its advocacy arm “Now Tell Me Their Names.”

Our 2026 Collaborative Lenten Gift – “Turning a Ripple into a Wave”

Last weekend, Stacey Okada, a Wellesley resident who graduated from MassBay and now serves on the Foundation Board of Directors, spoke movingly about the transformational impact of the support and financial assistance she received as a student:

I’m Stacey Okada, and I’ve been on the Foundation Board of Directors for about five years now. But… my connection to MassBay began in 2013 when I, having just had a baby ten weeks prior, and while also raising a toddler, enrolled as a student in the MassBay Biotech program.

That decision, along with a professor who saw something in me and steered me towards… applying for the scholarships that saw me not only through my education at MassBay, but then beyond to my bachelor’s degree – that’s how I went from being a high school runaway who slept in homes under construction to being a biochemist whose kids attend one of the best school systems in a state that is number one in the nation. My kids will feel it, as will their kids. This is generational… This work matters. These scholarships matter…

Knit Together With Care for Our Baby Shower for Pregnancy Help Boston

A group of knitters- both novice and more experienced – have begun gathering to build community and create blankets and other knit goods for our annual Mother’s Day Collaborative Baby Shower to benefit Pregnancy Help Boston.

If you’re looking to knit with other parishioners or want to join this community as you learn, contact Sr. Colleen Gibson.

Reminder: Mother’s Day is on Sunday, May 10, 2026!

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