St. John’s United Church, Alliston

Social Justice archives

Social Justice Archives

In 2015, St. John’s partnered with the Red Sucker Lake reserve in northern Manitoba to help with the construction of a new church there.

One of our members, Wayne Van Dyke, spent a total of six weeks helping with construction, including driving a rented van filled with building supplies and tools for fourteen hours across ice roads from Norway House to the build site. He returned to help celebrate the opening on December 13, 2017.

At the request of the Red Sucker Lake school principal, our church has collected and shipped hundreds of pairs of running shoes, as well as baseball and hockey equipment to the school. Skates and hockey equipment have also been shipped to Wasagamack, another First Nations community nearby.

Aboriginal Sunday

In June of 2018, we had three guest speakers: two Indigenous students, Ava Corbierre from Honey Harbour and Pierre Debassige from Manitoulin Island, along with Grandmother and Elder Kate Brant from Kingston.

In 2019, our speaker was Shirley John (Strong White Buffalo Women) of the Saugeen First Nations. She is an Ancestor Pipe Carrier. She spoke to us about the spiritual significance of water in her culture and its importance to all of life.

Lenten Project 2021 and 2022