“God’s Work, Our Hands”

September 8, 2013

Stories of Faith in Action

The sky was clear and the sun was shining as smiles and laughter made a good world brighter. Sev-

enty Resurrection members of all ages took part in the service day to love and serve neighbors in

our community. Nothing was too big to be tackled, whether it was spending time with senior citi-

zens on the all-important Grandparents’ Day, putting up shelves to store clothes for foster children,

cooking a meal for women and children, sorting food at a food bank, donating socks and under-

wear for families, or power-washing furniture. “Through our compassion and service, we helped im-

prove the living conditions of those going through challenges in their lives. This experience helped

us grow as Christians by living what we believe.”

Something special happens when we come

together to impact the lives of others. Resur-

rection was just one of the congregations serv-

ing that day – to celebrate ELCA’s 25th anni-

versary, member churches from all around

America spent the day serving. Nearly 4 mil-

lion other Lutherans worked together to em-

body the spirit of Christ and joyfully offer their

time and talents to others.

A team of nine people, spanning three generations, worked together to cook dinner for residents

of St. John’s Shelter for Women and Children. The shelter has helped over 25,000 residents since it

opened in 1985 and everyone loved the tasty Sunday dinner. “I was deeply impressed with the

fact that the majority of the women served were very gracious and grateful, expressing their

thanks when going through the food line. Gratitude is such a deep spiritual prayer and blessing, so

I believe that giving these wonderful women a chance to express their heartfelt gratitude was an

invitation to their deepening prayer life.” St. John’s strives to advance women from a point of crisis

to a position of self-sufficiency in their lives. “It was miracle to witness so many women

acknowledge their gratitude. I find this to be a prayer. My guess is they have been in situations

where gratitude was not a part of their lives, so this provided an opening to the Holy Spirit.”

Resurrection members headed on over to CASA, a program that serves fos-

ter children as the “eyes and ears of the judge and the voice of the child” to

help build shelves. The extra storage will make space for clothes and other

items needed to help the youth CASA serves.

Nine extra pairs of hands sorted donations at River City Food Bank. Gina, one of the food bank

staffers, commented, "Many people think RCFB mostly serves the homeless; but in fact, our greatest

number of clients are seniors and children. Sadly, families can't make it from one payday to the

next." As the only food bank open every weekday, they can use all the help they can get, and

Resurrection members provided it! This event also helped raise awareness of community needs. As

a result of the event, 48 pounds of peanut butter was donated to the food bank.

A team of 15 banded together to provide socks and underwear for 90 families aided by Lutheran

Social Services. We celebrated with the families at LSS by serving ice cream sundaes and playing

games with the kids. “The families were grateful, and loved the ice cream party on the hot day!

Seeing the ice cream mustaches on all the kids and some of the adults was an added bonus!” “I

was so moved by the smiling and happy children, I want to serve at LSS again.”

A team helped with set-up for a golf tournament to help fundraise

for the Roseville R.E.C. Center with programs that help at-risk

youth.

An intergenerational team of 17 went to Roseville Home Start to power-wash furniture, plant gar-

dens, and fix broken bicycles. Roseville Home Start successfully transitions homeless families into af-

fordable, sustainable permanent housing and self- sufficiency, through a system of housing and

support services that is comprehensive, flexible, accessible and accountable. “It was enjoyable to

work with others and meet new people on a project that you knew made a difference in the lives

of others.”

Adults, teenagers and kids all had a blast hanging out with the residents at Eskaton for Grand-

parent’s Day, giving them hand-made cards, singing songs, and just visiting. Beverly McLaggan

shared her experiences and knowledge of visiting with those who have memory loss while Dawn

Stroh provided the music with her wonderful piano playing skills. “We brought a smile to many as a

result of simple human kindness.”

The day of service was a wonderful expression of gratitude, for folks from Resurrection and the

people and organizations we were privileged enough to help. To quote Sue Ernst, “we all walked

away from this trip feeling very blessed.” We went out that day to serve others, but ended up

serving ourselves at the same time. Everyone truly embraced God’s work all day and had mem-

orable experiences we won’t soon forget.” God's people used their hands to do God's work. It’s

a great day to be a disciple!