Like many in the NH lakes region, summer is typically the busiest season for The Episcopal Church of St John the Baptist (StJB) in Sanbornville, NH. Under the leadership of Parson Kit Wang and Vestry team, St John’s is having an especially great and eventful summer.
The renovated steeple.
For starters, our 'little white church on the hill’, built in the carpenter gothic style in 1877, needed some work. The soaring green steeple and roof saddle required major restorative and cosmetic work, amounting to a hefty $37,000. Thanks to a most generous anonymous ‘angel donor’ within our parish, who offered a 2-for-1 match, and many contributors, we were able to raise the funds in 4-6 weeks to pay for the much needed work. Thankfully, the steeple and roof work were completed in mid-August and looks wonderful!
StJB has also focused on community building and community outreach this summer. Known for welcoming and feeding ALL well, St John’s has (or will) host 5 terrific community BBQ dinners and 3 pie sales between May to Sept 2023. St John’s popular holiday pie sales – always held the Sat (9 am) prior to Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day – typically sell out 75+ homemade pies in 30-60 minutes. StJB’s next Pie Sale will be on Saturday, September 2nd (9 am) and St John’s next Community Dinner will be a Ham & Bean supper on Saturday, September 16th at 5 pm. Like all St John’s dinners, it is open and FREE to all who need it. For those that can afford it, a suggested donation (just $10 adults & $5 kids) is gratefully accepted to help cover food costs and fund StJB community programs.
Pam, Dave & Trevor Tyler, EpiscoGolf 2023’s grand prize winners graciously donated back half of their cash prize to help local children’s charities.
Last, thanks to many generous supporters, StJB’s EpiscoGolf 2023 outreach efforts just brought in $11,600 (including donations) to help local Children’s Charities. St John’s is most grateful for the backing of our key community partners, including Eastern Propane & Oil, Poor People’s Pub, Key-Day Builders, Peaslee Funeral Home, E.F. Dolaher & Sons, Tumbledown Farms, William Krause, CPA, and Seven Lakes Realty. St John’s Vestry, parishioners and friends were also major contributors. Even our 2023 grand prize winners, Dave and Pam Tyler, of Rochester, NH, graciously gave back half of their cash prize this year.
Since 1995, 100% of the St John’s signature outreach program – EpiscoGolf’s collective proceeds of almost $120,000 – have gone to help local kids in need. As such, EpiscoGolf has become a vital resource for local charities helping kids in need, including End 68-hours of Hunger (Milton), Secret Santa (Wakefield), Families in Transition (Rochester), Schools Out! Program (Ossipee), Homeless Center Strafford County (Home for Now; Rochester), Wakefield Food Pantry (Wakefield), ChiPs and CASA of NH (all of NH). So, once again, it’s now time for local organizations that support kids in need to submit their simple 1-page grant application (deadline 10/31/23) to St John’s. For more information and download the application, please see the application following this article.
Interested in checking out St John’s and how we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in worship, fellowship and outreach? Please drop by 118 High St in Sanbornville, NH on any Sunday for our 9 am service (in person or via Zoom) and stick around to chat (and eat well) at our coffee hour that follows or visit: www.stjohntb.org. We welcome and affirm all. Have a happy, safe & blessed end-of-summer!
By Maureen Gillum, article as it appeared on 8/31/23 in the Carroll County Independent and Granite State News (page A8)