TORRINGTON, CONN (SZS) — This September, in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), members throughout the church participated in a “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday, many on September 8, by providing a dedicated day of service to address the needs of others. (Read more: ‘Reaching Out From Chicago With
‘God’s Work. Our Hands.” and ‘Reaching Out From Trumbull With
God’s Work. Our Hands.” However, a number of our congregations in the Slovak Zion Synod have observed this day of service in other ways as well.
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Little Falls, New York, is proof that you don’t need to wait for an anniversary to celebrate our call to do God’s work. Holy Trinity has hosted a monthly ‘Good News Supper’ every third Tuesday of each month for over six years running. The supper is held for the community and draws in many people from different walks of life, including many belonging to the congregation, family and friends, neighbors and many individuals in need from the community.
The supper is free of charge, with voluntary donations collected to benefit the continuation of the supper, and to provide for those in need. The menu covers a variety of appetites, and has featured everything from pancakes and breakfast foods, to spaghetti and meatballs, to soup and sandwiches, to chili, and much more.
In similar fashion, St. John the Evangelist Lutheran Church, Lansford, Pennsylvania hosts a free supper each Wednesday night, followed by worship. Offerings from the Wednesday worship benefit area hunger programs. Twice a month this dinner is sponsored by Feed the People, an organization of the wider community; the other Wednesdays are provided by the members of St. John’s themselves.
A group of members from Ascension Lutheran Church in Binghamton, New York, have reached out to neighborhood children with a program titled Parables & Pizza. Held for five consecutive Saturdays, the children learned a parable story each week, songs, a craft associated with the parable and, of course, had pizza.
The youth of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Stafford Springs, Connecticut, sponsor an inter-generational movie night for the community, complete with refreshments. The visibility of this event is found in the fact that the movies are projected on a “wall” in the church parking lot and are obviously “open” to the public.
It is clear that God’s work is being done with the hands of those of us in the Slovak Zion Synod. These are but a sampling of the ways in which we can make a difference in the lives of others and proclaim the love of Christ to everyone!
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