How We Serve the Community

orthodox community various members

As a mission community of Orthodox Christians, the purpose of Saint John the Merciful is to practically address needs in our neighborhood and greater community.

Since our parish began in 2016, a major focus of our outreach ministry is addressing food insecurity amongst children, families, and the homeless in Wards 7 and 8 of the District of Columbia.

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Sunday morning service times are:

  • 9:15 AM – Hours
  • 9:30 AM – Divine Liturgy
altar during service
entrance to St John's

Through the generosity of a single benefactor, we moved to our permanent home in August 2021. During the first twelve months, we directly facilitated 36,000+ meals through a charity partner. We plan to expand even further in the coming years.

Our new place of worship is a spacious home converted into a chapel and coffee hour hall, as well as a storage area for assembling and packing specific food donations.

By operating out of our new building and using the space for food storage, we’ve worked with a charity partner and went from feeding twenty kids to one hundred each weekend. Our mission location is also conveniently located near local schools where donations have been transported and distributed. We are currently looking for a new charity partner to continue this vital service to local children in need. 

We also partner with Roman Catholic and Coptic Orthodox Christian organizations to address issues of those in need of food and clothing. We’re currently in a working partnership with the Pope Francis Center (since May 2016).

Aside from providing food for local children and families in need, our mission has many other charitable programs in the works.

st john the merciful sign

Community Outreach Programs Presently in Operation:

  • Ukrainian Refugee Human Trafficking

    Addressing the human trafficking of Ukrainian refugees in refugee camps in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. Right now, we have in-country partners asking us for different types of assistance. Partnering with our sister charity, 501c3 organization St. Nicholas Freedom Group (saintnicholasfreedom.org), St. John the Merciful is looking at ways to address this immediate and extensive crisis.

    We are undergoing a fact-finding mission, looking at how we can best address the situation, and we plan to send a team to provide help. This team will be capable of clinical assessment and has extensive experience dealing with combat zones and refugee populations.We are currently working with partners in Romania and Ukraine to address and prevent victimization of refugees and human trafficking in general. If you are interested in donating, you can do that here.

  • Other Human Trafficking

    Anti-human trafficking programs and efforts both domestically and worldwide.

  • Freedom of Faith

    Working to address freedom of faith or conscience in our society and worldwide.

  • Local Organic Garden

    Raised-bed gardening to provide organic produce to the local community.

Community Outreach Programs in Development:

  • Neighborhood Counseling & Care

    Free mental health counseling and advanced pastoral care services in the neighborhood. When we have sufficient resources, we will also create a mobile counseling center to better address behavioral health issues for those in need.

  • Real Estate Investment

    Purchasing property in our neighborhood to increase impact.

At St. John the Merciful, we are deeply grounded in the history and tradition of the Orthodox Christian faith, and we’re also dynamic and relevant in our mission to address the issues facing all of us in a new and challenging era. We’d love for you to come visit and see what we’re all about!

If you are looking for a parish in the DC area, or a meaningful way to volunteer with any of the above programs, email us at info@st.johnthemerciful.org.