By B.J. Metzger
The Social Concerns Committee has renewed its efforts to bring the church into the community following the hiatus of the pandemic. During the two years off, we lost two important committee members, Judy Florine and Barb Lyman. We are striving to replace their skills and energy.
Last June we were asked to try to do some of the things we normally would do. We normally focused on elders, families and children, and refugees so we set our calendar beginning with the school supply drive in August. For many, many years Judy Florine and Anne Haugan did this project together. They gathered the donated supplies together and brought them to the teachers at Central Park Elementary School. They got to know the people in the school office pretty well and looked forward to their annual visit knowing how glad teachers were to be able to give supplies to kids who needed them most.
This year we wanted to remember Judy Florine’s contribution to this project and the rest of the work of our committee, so we named it The Judy Florine Memorial School Supply Drive. Anne and Peter Haugan loaded up the car with piles of donated supplies and happily renewed acquaintances with folks at the school. Anne and Peter Haugan embodied PoP that day just as Judy and Anne had for many years before. This is truly how we bring the church into the community. The values of our congregation and the ELCA are reflected in the generosity of donations of things all kids need to do their best in school. Those same values helped formed the relationships between PoP and the staff at the school. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve God, help kids in need, and build friendships with people in our community.
Our congregation has a significant number of people who see a need and go about filling that need. We have volunteers who build houses, deliver meals, and till garden beds. We also have people who attend meetings and gatherings throughout the year. Kristina Krepela has been our liaison to Lyngblomsten for several years. This year she delivered an abundance of gift cards, prayer shawls and gifts for residents at Lyngblomsten. Our thanks to everyone who brought things to place on or under the tree.
We look forward to Spring when we will hold a blood drive for the Red Cross. Laurie Paetz has agreed to host the blood drive as she has in years past. We are eager to hear if you have ideas for ways our congregation can help someone in our community. Together we make a difference.