We're restoring more than a building
Abstract Sustainability Narrative (Eastside Community)

We are currently living unsustainable lives. If we are not careful how we use and dispose of both spiritual and natural, resources, this community will not exist for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and will, and history proves that they will have a poorer, more polluted community to live in.

A sustainable community is one where development is not unlimited growth; rather it is the enhancement of what already exists in the community. A sustainable community is not stagnant; sustainability does not mean things never change. On the contrary, it means always looking for ways to improve a community by strengthening the links between its economy, environment and society. A sustainable community is also not a utopia. It is not a community where nothing ever goes wrong. Sustainability does not mean that businesses never fail, that people never go hungry, or that pollution never happens. Sustainable means that when problems arise, we, the residents, look for solutions that take into account all three parts of the community instead of applying a quick fix in one area that causes problems in another.

The primary planned goal of St. John's Chapel and the African American Family Center for Biblical Dialogue (AAFCBD @ St. John's Chapel) is a sustainable Enterprise Renewal Community/Enterprise Community (ERC/EC), specially the Eastside Community, will be to meet its basic spiritual and human resource needs in ways that can be defined, and continued in the future. To do this, we need to figure out what the real problems are and stop reacting to the symptoms of these problems. Then, we must identify what our basic needs are and how to meet those needs within the problem most effectively. Lastly, we've made a determination that whatever we discover is the need, we would begin with the very young, while keeping the other age groups involved.

The Vision Statement

Through the Word of God, Sacraments & Prayer… to bring uncomplicated worship to the citizens of the Eastside Community

The vision of St. John's Chapel

Our vision is to create spiritual, social and economic opportunity and advancement for 'fragile' families residing in the 7.3 square-mile Enterprise Renewal Community (ERC), specifically those residing in the 1.4 square-mile Eastside Community.

The mission of St. John's Chapel

Our mission is to provide EC/ERC families with the spiritual, emotional and social tools and resources they need to achieve full and equal participation in society.
We seek to equip and encourage them to be equal participants in society through collaboration and empowerment. We will do this in a setting where diversity is cultivated and celebrated.
We seek to create an atmosphere, environment and community that are conducive to peaceful co-existence of its residents, by:

• Strengthening moral values,
  Reducing poverty and injustice,
  Promoting community cooperation, and
  Increasing human and spiritual achievement

St. John's Chapel
(Established 1839)

18 Hanover Street
Charleston, SC 29403-5515

P.O. Box 21832
Charleston, SC 29413

Telephone: 843-720-3603
Facsimile: 843-720-3602
Temporary Email: vicarstjohns@bellsouth.net

The Rev. Dr. Dallas H. Wilson, Jr., Vicar

Weekly Services

Sunday, 9 a.m.: Koinonia (2nd Floor - Multipurpose Room)

Sunday, 10:30 a.m.: Gospel Rite II in the historical Church Building

Wednesday, 7 p.m.: Public Healing and Prayer Services, Intimate Prayer Chapel, 1st Floor AAFCBD Building

Various Bible Studies

Call (843) 720-3600 or email: vicarstjohns@bellsouth.net for a complete schedule of services.