St. John the Evangelist Missionaries

St. John the Evangelist parishioners serve as Catholic missionaries in many capacities to spread the good news of our faith to those who have not yet experienced God’s unending love and infinite mercy. Here are just a few of our missionaries, their organizations, and how you can help. To be added to this page please contact Judy Tacyn at jtacyn@stjohnsp.org.

Meet the Missionaries

Joseph O’Connor
Damascus Catholic Youth Summer Camp

joe.w.oconnor@gmail.com

Damascus is a mission organization that was formed to respond to the crisis of young people losing the faith in our Church. Through missionary led retreats, we give an example of the joy and love of relationship with Jesus to middle and high schoolers over the course of a week. With only 9% of cradle Catholics remaining in the faith after age 21, our mission is to provide a place to encounter the Lord and his love, and propel them to receive God’s love and live changed lives.
I attended Damascus Summer Camps throughout high school after my own conversion there in my freshman year. The missionaries and young men surrounding me showed me what a life given to Christ looked like and I wanted it so badly. Like many of the young people we serve, I was sick of what the world offered and the emptiness and depression from sin. Because of Damascus, I met Jesus as a true person and experienced his love for me, and now I want to give that same gift to every kid who comes to this camp after me.
To keep the cost of camp as low as we can, Damascus asks its missionaries to request the generosity of their community to pay for their cost of stay and earnings. My goal is to reach $3000 this year and my support group has given around $2000 so far to my mission. I am very thankful for all of your support as I will use this surplus to pay for my college and yearly expenses.
If you wish to aid my mission, you can do so on the official Damascus website at https://damascus.givevirtuous.org/donate/joseph-o'connor or find my name on the Missionary Giving Page. Thank you for all of your prayers and gifts and I will be praying for you all. God Bless!

AJ Dalida
FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students)

anthony.dalida@focus.org

FOCUS has more than 1,000 full-time missionaries serving on more than 200 college campuses and parishes. People hunger for more in life, but what they don’t know they’ll find it in Christ. FOCUS brings the hope and joy of the gospel to them — meeting them in friendship, inviting them into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and walking with them as they pursue lives of virtue and excellence.
Through Bible studies, outreach events, mission trips and everyday accompaniment, missionaries inspire and build up others in faith, sending them out to spread the good news and live out the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).
FOCUS also puts on their annual SEEK conference of about 24,000 attendees, sends more than 100 mission trips every year, leads more than 50 retreats around the country and has more than 36,000 students involved in bible studies.
I am married to my beautiful bride Madison and we are blessed to have two sons (Anthony & Xavier). I grew up in Severna Park and was a parishioner of St. John's my whole life. I graduated from James Madison University in 2018. Since then, I have been a full time FOCUS Missionary.
We are fully reliant on the generosity of our monthly supporters. Your financial support allows me to serve alongside FOCUS freely and fully! Being an 8th year FOCUS Missionary, I lead a team to drive FOCUS' mission trip efforts. Every year my team and I send more than 1,000 of our missionaries, students and chaplains to various areas of the world to serve the poor, make the Sacraments available and evangelize communities through the assistance of our mission hosts.
If you are interested in partnering with me, please reach me at (410) 948-6657 and anthony.dalida@focus.org. I have a fundraising page with FOCUS at focus.org/missionaries/aj-dalida

Fr. George Asigre
Pastor, St. John the Evangelist, Wiaga - Chiok, Ghana, Africa

mafor@stjohnsp.org

Father George Asigre, past Associate Pastor at St. Johns, has been working diligently to build his church in Ghana, Africa, for the past two years. The generous donations from St. John parish members and contributions from the local Knights of Columbus Charity Corporation, have been of great help in reaching Fr. George's goal of constructing a new church in Northern Ghana.
On June 14, 2025, the church, named, St. John the Evangelist, in honor of the Severna Park contributors will be consecrated.
To donate to Fr. George’s parish, please make out checks payable to “St. Vincent de Paul” with “Fr. George Asigre” in the memo line and send to SVDP via the Parish Office at 679 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park, Md. 21146.
Please note that due to high wire transfer fees, your check may not be immediately cashed. We bundle donations to make wire transfers less expensive.
If you have any questions, please contact St. Vincent de Paul at svdp@stjohnsp.org.

David Cohn
Damascus Catholic Youth Summer Camp

dcohn25@gmail.com

Damascus Mission: “To awaken, empower, and equip a generation to live the adventure of the Catholic faith through world-class programs and an environment of encounter.”
David is a rising junior at St. Vincent College studying Theology and Business Management. This will be his second summer with Damascus, and he will be serving as a counselor, leading small groups each week to show the importance of the faith and the love that the Father has for His children.
David could use any financial and spiritual support this summer to help support his mission. His work is not possible without your generosity, and he is so blessed to be able to share the Gospel with you and his campers.
You can donate to David and hear more about his mission using this link:
https://damascus.givevirtuous.org/donate/david-cohn

Adam Farber
Damascus Catholic Youth Summer Camp

adamfarber@damascus.net

After completing 20+ years in service to our country with the Navy, I have decided to serve our Lord as He has called me into ministry with Damascus. I have always liked discovering new and exciting ways to help people. This opportunity affords me a way to continue to serve people, just now with a greater impact on the kingdom of God. Adventure, the outdoors, and encountering our Lord are great ways to help reach as many people as possible and share the joy and experiences I have benefited from through my own relationship with Christ.
Damascus missionaries work with their Mission Support Team to help grow the kingdom of God through world class encounters with Jesus Christ. We are fully reliant on the generosity of our monthly mission supporters. Your financial support allows me to serve Damascus freely and fully! Being the Regional Director of Operations, I am in charge of the day-to-day operations and maintenance of Damascus Summit Lake in Emmitsburg, MD. Damascus is looking forward to having a full summer camps soon and the site is available for rentals.
To support Adam, please visit https://damascus.givevirtuous.org/donate/adam-farber.