St. John's United Church of Christ

Groups and Ministries

Worship Team

The pastor and the Worship Team plan the liturgy and musical elements of the weekly Sunday worship service. The team also plans the special elements incorporated into services for major holidays and special observances (such as Totenfest, Mother’s/Father’s Day and Blessing of the Animals).

Individuals from the congregation are invited to attend and participate in the monthly Worship Team meetings, where discussion is always open to creative thoughts and new ideas for enhancing worship service.

Witness Outreach Welcome

With a commitment to providing love and acceptance for all at St. John’s UCC in Brighton, the WOW group focuses on promoting inclusion and diversity through the welcome, worship and fellowship that our church offers to all people in surrounding communities. The WOW group works to reach out to and interact with the community through activities such as Movies That Matter, Trunk or Treat and Movies in the Park.

Individuals in the congregation are invited to be part of WOW to help envision new ways of engaging with the community and help bring to life new ideas that encourage fellowship, acceptance and spiritual growth.

Loyal Daughters

Loyal Daughters is open to women of all ages, including teens and girls as young as grade school, who all benefit and grow through shared activities and fellowship.

The Loyal Daughters group supports a variety of projects, including the continually growing Southwestern Pack-A-Sack, school supplies for children in need, Christmas gifts for families in need and various mission activities.

Food Pantry

Members of the congregation bring food items throughout the year to our church's collection point. At various times special contests are held among the teams and groups of the church to see which can collect the most items for the pantry during a specific time period.

The Brighton Area Food Pantry is open every Thursday from 9:30-11:00 a.m. and on the third Tuesday of the month from 6:00-7:00 p.m. The Food Pantry is located behind the Cartwright Building which is South of St. Paul United Methodist Church in Brighton.

Southwestern Pack-A-Sack

The Southwestern Pack-A-Sack program provides a weekend supply of nutritious food for more than 60 children when school lunch and breakfast is unavailable on a weekend or school holiday. Each food bag contains two breakfasts, two lunches, two snacks, a dairy item and a can of fruit. All food is nonperishable and provided to children free of charge.

The Loyal Daughters Ministry of St. John’s United Church of Christ, in conjunction with the Brighton Ministerial Alliance and School District, collects and organizes monthly packing sessions. Volunteers are needed to help assemble the bags of food on the first Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m.

Uni-Pres Kindercottage

Through special monthly offering collections during Sunday worship service, St. John's helps support Uni-Pres Kindercottage, a joint mission of the Presbyterian Church USA and the United Church of Christ. Kindercottage is an inclusionary child development center that serves as a beacon of light and hope to children and families in East St. Louis, Illinois.

The Mission of Uni-Pres Kindercottage is to provide an environment where all ages, infants through adults, have opportunities for growth and enrichment through educational and social programs developed in a community setting and resulting in healthy and stable families.

5 for 5 Church

The success and sustainability of the national ministries of the United Church of Christ relies on churches contributing to basic operating support and mission. Being 5 for 5 means our church provides support to Our Church’s Wider Mission along with the four Special Mission Offerings: One Great Hour of Sharing, Strengthen the Church, Neighbors in Need and The Christmas Fund.