Friday, July 29, 2022

Outside the Box

GATHER & FILL THE HALL!

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing

according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hears us,

whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him”.

1 John 5:14 - 5:15

Last month's Fill the Hall Food Drive was a success by all accounts. This annual joint venture between The Music Hall and Gather exceeded the goals set for both the amount of food collected and funds raised. Since 2015 this event has benefited Gather’s Meals 4 Kids program, helping over 700 children on the Seacoast in the 11 weeks of summer.

St. John's, though the auspices of Outside the Box, stepped up and contributed to Gather’s goal of ending hunger in our community. Close to 400 lbs. were collected at a special drop off in the Philbrook Room. Additionally, nearly two dozen personal checks were added to a grand total sufficient to receive an even larger promised matching grant. Gather For a Hunger-free Community, could not continue their mission without the generosity of the Outside the Box committee and the parishioners of St. John's.

“God’s love refuses to be kept in a box”, this is Bishop Rob Hirschfield and

the Presiding Bishop’s vision of our “being the Beloved Community”.

Five years ago, the “Outside The Box” committee was formed by a few parishioners. Its unusual name comes from the vision that our Presiding Bishop and Bishop Rob Hirschfield have of us spreading God’s love outside the box of our ideas, our building, and out into our community.

The Committee has attempted to accomplish this mandate by offering a platform for ideas. In this way it has hoped to expand the knowledge of issues outside the normal church experience. To accomplish this the group has invited speakers with all kinds of topics and points of view.

Just a quick glimpse of previous topics:

• Chikumbuza – Zambia

• Circles of Support - NYC

• CrossRoads House - Portsmouth

• Gather - Portsmouth

• Hope on Haven Hill - Rochester/Somersworth

• Immigration and Asylum support - Portsmouth/Dover

• Ondjiva Project - Angola/Diocese of New Hampshire

• Reparations - Diocese of New Hampshire

• PFAS - Silent Spring Institute - Newton, MA

• I Got Bridged – Portsmouth, NH