"One Thing that Made All the Difference," by the Rev. John Blackburn

The Rev. John L. Blackburn is the Priest-in-Charge of St. Christopher's, Portland. In this Small Church Ministry Spotlight, he reflects on the remarkable impact one small change can make in the life of a congregation and encourages readers to look at their own church through new eyes.

Meals

• Community kitchen: prepared meals/frozen handed out at food bank.
• Weekly Wednesday night no strings supper.
• Personal guest invites & meal to get to know each person/family and their dreams for (San Paleo).
• We have a new outside worship area and a community-wide Shrove Tuesday supper.
• Do pancakes in the park for the community on Shrove Tuesday.
• Funeral ministry – free use of church for meals for families/unchurched families at funerals.
• Blessing our local emergency room with a meal/snack/dessert weekly since onset of Covid-19, painfully.
• Every first Sunday of the month we have a potluck lunch in the Parish Hall.
• Meals on Wheels.
• Donate food items to the town Food Pantry.

Outreach

• Pre-covid we would partner with the Methodist and the Presbyterian churches in our neighborhood to put on a joint Vacation Bible School.
• We have joined with 5 other churches in a joint ministry, a 20+ year history.
• Church facilities open to public to use. Outreach to community for meetings, bridge clubs, social events. We have a monthly 42(z) game to draw in others. Programs for women in our ministry. Movies for the community on Friday nights. A gathering of all members from the past.
• ESL (English as a second language) program. Community block parties.
• We put a fitness ministry (hydraulic machines only) in an unused classroom. Our church secretary had the equipment.
• Spiritual formation in a rural community.
• We have a Cowboy Communion twice a year and sign old-time hymns.
• Hospitality – Central America outreach.
• Law enforcement outreach.
• Outreach to Law enforcement/scouts
• Ministering to 3 new single moms whether members or not.
• We do Market days/yard sale/. All help bring people in contact.
• Pre-K 3-5 Parochial School.
• Little library & food pantry Kiosks outside
• Little tree library – 24/7 access to free children’s books. Promote literacy. Halloween Trick or Treat book bags.
• We’re the town rallying point for clothing donations that go to World Missions
• Collect toys and clothing for the County Helping Abused and Neglected Kids (HANK) homes.
• Community Trunk or Treat
• Have a church float in 2 different town annual parades.
• Host community “Ashes to Go” on Ash Wednesday
• Sew “Quilts of Valor” quilts for disabled veterans.
• Collect cards for veterans at county Veteran Nursing Homes

Multilingual, Multicultural

• We have a Mexican priest for the Spanish service.
• Hispanic outreach.
• Spanish language pastoral care.
• Held our first All Saints/Dia De Los Muertos service.   

Donations

• Help with hygiene items at the High Schools, nursing homes. Monetary donations to Uvalde or Camp Capers.
• Donation of several items to multiple nonprofit organizations.
• Major annual fundraisers.

Animals

• Second chance – foster animals.
• Blessing of the pets
• Allow dogs.
• Host community Blessing of the Animals

Plus Many More!

• Being a tithing church for the community outreach.
• We have a deep knowledge of our history of our church.
• Very loving congregation. Make a point of welcoming newcomers. Very good bell choir.
• We have been without a clergy for 8 years. We have a lay parish coordinator who oversees everything and we are growing!
• Our services are on YouTube. We have a monthly newsletter and weekly email reminders.
• We send out weekly newsletters and post daily scriptures on our Facebook page.
• Social media presence.