Ministry Teams

St. Paul, Douglassville, Child Development Center. This program, a ministry of the congregation since 1996, has recently added a Kindergarten Preparation class for children in the community who are not ready to transition to a full day public kindergarten. Grant money will be used to purchase initial supplies and furniture for the class.
 

$1,000

Synodical Lutheran Men in Mission Group. Lutheran Men in Mission exists to support men in their spiritual growth and in their social and intellectual development. In order to encourage the development of men’s ministries in more of our congregations, the LMM group will purchase and distribute copies of the Master Builder’s Study Bible.
 

$3,500

LIFT 2009 Planning Team. After an effective event in June of 2007 that drew nearly 800 members of synod congregations, a repeat of Lutheran In Faith Together is planned for June 13, 2009. Through workshops, concerts, outdoor activities, worship, and more – the event will endeavor to invigorate participants for ministry in the congregation, in the community and in daily life.
 

$1,500

Good Cheer Food Pantry, St. Luke, Greeley. As the economy becomes more tentative, food pantries across the synod are seeing an increase in clients. The Good Cheer Food Pantry continues to provide basic food supplies for needy people and distributes special food baskets each Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Grant money will be used to purchase food.
 

$6,000

St. Luke’s Neighborhood Center, Allentown. The past year has been year of growth for the center which responds to the needs of its community with programs for children from pre-kindergarten through high school and for adults. The Witness and Service grant will allow the center to purchase supplies and to provide field trips for participants.
 

$500

Zion’s, Old Zionsville, Webcast Project. In partnership with the Parish Trinity Episcopal Church, Wall Street, New York City, Zion’s makes available to synod pastors and lay people webcasts of the high quality continuing education programs offered by the Trinity Institute. This grant will help Zion’s advertize these webcasts more effectively throughout the synod.
 

Family Promise of Monroe County. This cooperative ministry involving volunteers from 30 congregations working  with local homeless families to help them achieve permanent housing and lasting independence. Grant money will be used to purchase supplies for the congregations that host participating families.
 

$400

Christ and San Martin de Porres, Allentown, Day Camp. For the third year, these two Allentown congregations have partnered to provide a community day camp for children in the congregations and their neighborhoods. Grant money will be used to purchase supplies and cover other expenses of the project.
 

$700

Wilkes-Barre Bear Creek Day Camp. Sponsored by the four downtown congregations of Wilkes-Barre – Good Shepherd, Messiah, St. John, and St. Mark – this day camp reaches out to children of families with limited financial means. Grant money will be used to provide camperships for children who attend.
 

$4,000

Hope, Reading, Live the Love Event. Hope, Reading, an inner city congregation is preparing a three-day, two-night event for youth in participating congregations and the neighborhood. The event, culminating in an outdoor festival worship service, will include multiple opportunities for participants to hear the good news of Jesus. The Witness and Service Grant will make it possible to bring Agape, a well known performing artist, to the event.
 

$3,000

Christ, Reading, Laptops and Little Kids. This project will provide a summer learning opportunity for 4 and 5 year old children in the Glenside area of Reading. It is cooperative effort between the church and the Glenside Elementary School. Grant money will be used to purchase computers, software, and other supplies.
 

$400

St. Mark, Reading, Summer Program. In cooperation with St. Luke, Reading, and the West Berks Mission District, St. Mark congregation provides two weeks of summer programming for inner city youth. In addition, the congregation will host a neighborhood street fair at which, among other things, Spanish language Bibles will be distributed. The grant will enable planners to purchase needed supplies.
 

$1,200

Micah 6:8 Group, Advocacy Day. "Jesus Calls Us... to Action!" will be held on Saturday, November 1, 2008. Folks from all synod congregations are invited to this one-day event at which Andrew Genszler, Director of the ELCA Washington Office, area politicians, representatives from LAMPa, and others will help participants to be more effective advocates for those in society whose voices often go unheard. The Witness and Service Grant has made it possible to bring Mr. Genszler as the keynote speaker.
 

$5,000

Tanzania Companion Synod Committee. The grant from the Witness and Service Ministry Team will be one of the income sources that will make it possible for the committee to send a sea container filled with medical supplies to Bulongwa Hospital in our companion synod, the South Central Diocese of Tanzania.
 

$1,000

Easton Lutheran Cluster. “Justice Rolls Down. . .God Around Town,” is a project of the congregations of the Easton Cluster. Thirty youth from grades 7-12 participate in a four-day event that, through Bible study and interactive experiences, help them explore how God’s abundant gifts help believers deal with the effects of hunger and poverty in their community. Grant money will be used for supplies and to advertize the event.

Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, Leesport. Once again this year, a team of people from Holy Trinity will return to David, Kentucky to do housing repair on substandard housing in the economically depressed Appalachian Mountain region. The grant money will be used toward the purchase of building supplies.
 

$2,000

Holy Spirit, Emmaus - Rejoicing Spirits. Rejoicing Spirits, a new ministry launched in February, provides a monthly worship experience for people suffering from developmental disabilities. The worship experience is open to people from all faith communities. Grant money is being used to purchase instruments and other worship supplies.
 

$2,000

Trinity, Kutztown/Campus Ministry Mission Project. Over spring break, students from the Lutheran Campus Ministry at Kutztown University, together with members of Trinity, Kutztown, traveled to New Orleans to participate in a Lutheran Disaster Relief project. Grant money helped to offset transportation costs and to purchase construction supplies.
 

$1,000

West Berks Mission District Pantry Reusable Bag Project. The 45 congregations of the mission district support seven pantries that provide food to between 500 and 600 families each month. Grant money will be used to purchase reusable bags that will both reduce waste and through their logo provide a tangible witness to this social ministry initiative of the mission district.
 

$3,600

West Berks Mission District Day Camp. For many years this camp has served between 200 and 300 children – primarily inner city “at risk” children in Reading. Grant money ensures that low-income children can attend one of the week-long sessions.

Zion, Womelsdorf, for the Tenth Inning After School program. Zion Church recently dedicated its newly constructed social hall. One way that the congregation is using this structure for mission, is by beginning a new after-school program of activities and homework tutoring for students, many of whom attend the elementary school one block from the church. The grant will help the congregation purchase the supplies they need to get the program going.
 

$10,000

Family Promise of Berks County. A program of the Inter-faith Hospitality Network, this cooperative ministry effort of 14 host congregations, 10 partner congregations, and 6 support congregations provides assistance to families moving from homelessness to reintegration into society. This grant will provide the resources for Family Promise during a transition period in which the organization seeks greater funding from individuals, participating congregations, and governmental sources.
 

$1,400

St. John Lutheran Church, Farmersville, for their Faith in Action: Be the Church program. This four week long program revolves around mobilizing members and friends of the congregation to participate in several service projects that will express the love of Jesus in tangible ways to members of the surrounding community. Through this grant, the congregation will be able to send a direct mailing to members of the community regarding this ministry.
 

$4,000

St. Luke, Allentown, Neighborhood Center. This ongoing program of the congregation provides a wide range of after-school services for children in this city neighborhood. Grant money will be used to help the center expand its programming options.
 

$500

St. John Lutheran Church, Nanticoke, for Lutheran Radio Outreach, $500. This radio ministry, a cooperative effort of the Lutheran churches of the Wyoming Valley, broadcasts music, prayer, and educational programming – such as Grace Matters – through low power FM. The station broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This grant will help the radio ministry pay for programming material.

Bear Creek Summer Day Camp, Wilkes-Barre. Sponsored by the four downtown congregations of Wilkes-Barre (Good Shepherd, Messiah, St. John, and St. Mark), this day camp reaches out to children of families with limited financial means. Grant money will be used to provide camperships for children who attend.
 

$4,000

Family Promise of Berks County. A program of the Inter-faith Hospitality Network, this cooperative ministry effort of 14 host congregations, 10 partner congregations, and 6 support congregations provides assistance to families moving from homelessness to reintegration into society. Grant monies will provide supplies for the day center, as well as help with transportation needs for participants in the program.
 

$4,500

West Berks Mission District Day Camp. For many years this camp has served between 200 and 300 children – primarily inner city “at risk” children in Reading. Six of the hosting congregations are urban; one is rural. Grant money ensures that low-income children can attend one of the week-long sessions.
 

$600

Christ and San Martin de Porres, Allentown, Community Day Camp. For the second year, these two Allentown congregations have partnered to provide a community day camp for children in the congregations and their neighborhoods. Grant money will be used to purchase supplies and cover other expenses of the project.
 

$2,000

St. Luke, Reading, Music Readiness Program. In order to reach out more effectively to neighborhood children and their families, St. Luke, in conjunction with the Community School of Music, is sponsoring a program to help children enrolled in the local Head Start program gain an appreciation for music. The grant will be used to lower the cost of lessons for participating children.

Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, Leesport. A team of 22 members of Holy Trinity is headed to David, Kentucky, in late April to do housing repair on substandard housing in the economically depressed Appalachian Mountain region. The grant money will be used toward the purchase of building supplies.
 

$750

Allegheny Lutheran Church, Knauers. As part of its ministry of outreach to families in the community, the congregation will sponsor the Peder Eide’s “Taste Worship” program. Grant money will cover a portion of Peder Eide’s fee.
 

$2,500

St. Mark Lutheran Church, Reading. St. Mark is expanding its summer program of outreach to children in the surrounding community. Grant money will be used to purchase supplies and to make possible community events, such as a street fair.
 

Western Berks Free Medical Clinic, located at St. Daniel, Robesonia, to purchase prescription medicine. The clinic is staffed by volunteer doctors and nurses. Last quarter, 235 volunteer hours served 169 patient visits.
 

$2,000

Hope's Hangout, an after-school program of Hope, Reading, which operates three afternoons each week, serving approximately 60 children from the neighborhoods of northwest Reading. The grant money will be used to purchase supplies.
 

$3,000

Trinity Deaf, a worshiping community of Trinity, Reading, serves the deaf and hard-of-hearing population of Berks County and beyond. Grant money will help the congregation secure experienced signers for special programs and purchase equipment for its PowerPoint program.
 

$3,900

Joint ELCA/UCC Young Adult Group. On March 3, 2007, this newly formed group will host an event for young adults related to issues of social justice. The Witness and Service Ministry Team grant money will purchase supplies and pay for contracted services, such as the worship leadership team.
 

$1,300

Kids Count, an after-school program of Trinity, Kutztown, in partnership with other area congregations and students from Kutztown University, to provide a safe place for children in grades 2-5. Through this grant, the program will purchase needed start-up supplies.
 

$2,500

LIFT (Lutherans in Faith Together), a one-day event June 9, 2007, at Muhlenberg College for people of all ages from across the synod. This grant will help LIFT fund special speakers and workshops.
 

$1,300

Gay and Lesbian Ministry Task Force, to finance a “Night of Inquiry,” a meeting of Reconciling in Christ congregations and other congregations exploring the possibilities and challenges of being welcoming to all persons, regardless of sexual orientation.
 

$2,000

Case-worker program at Hope, Reading, the second payment on a $4,000 grant that was awarded in early 2005. $2,000 was paid at that time to start the program and $2,000 was held back until now to see if the program would be effective.

Wilkes Barre Free Clinic, to purchase basic medications that can be distributed at the time of a patient's visit. The clinic, supported by Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and St. Nicholas Catholic Church, Wilkes Barre, served 744 patients in 2004 and 1,066 patients in 2005. It serves people who work but have no health insurance.
 

$750

San Martin de Porres, Allentown, to fund materials, food and snacks for an outreach program using the celebration of Las Posadas and including residents of Luther Crest.
 

$1,000

Bear Creek Day Camp at Good Shepherd, Messiah, and St. Mark Lutheran Churches, Wilkes Barre, for scholarship money for this downtown Wilkes Barre Day Camp
 

$150

Craft Presentation of Quilts, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Coopersburg, part of the Safe Haven for Children Program
 

$1,000

Parish Nurse Task Force, to fund a planned conference for parish nurses

St. Luke's Neighborhood Center, Allentown, which serves 25-30 students per day and is expanding to holidays and summer hours
 

$2,500

Dove's Nest After School Program, Holy Spirit, Reading, for providing structured play, tutoring, and crafts 3 days per week for 30-40 kids, September through May
 

$500

Community Day Camp, Christ, Allentown, for scholarship funds to help children whose families are unable to pay for Bear Creek Day Camp to attend the camp
 

$1,000

Elementary After School Program, New Life, New Tripoli, to provide after school care for children K-4th grade from 3:45-7:00pm one day a week
 

$2,000

Mission Trip to Kentucky, Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, Leesport, to help with finances for a team of 20 who went to David, Kentucky, to do housing repair
 

$4,500

Love for Children Day Camp (West Berks Mission District) to help with costs for the camp, which serves between 200-300 children with 8 camps in different locations
 

$1,500

Hope's Hangout, Hope Lutheran Church, Reading, an after school program for neighborhood youth

Western Berks Free Medical Clinic, for providing medical services to walk-in clients without charge
 

$1,000

Family Promise of Berks County, an affiliate of the Inter-Faith Hospitality Network and an initiative of the West Berks Mission District , for providing transitional housing and services to families
 

$500

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Dushore, for their tape ministry to nursing home residents and home-bound individuals
 

$655

St. Peter Lutheran Church, Tower City, for supplies for their puppet ministry
 

$600

Trinity Lutheran Church, Topton, to support the E.Y.E.S. program, an ecumenical youth group in the Brandywine School District
 

$2,000

ASTAR (Appalachian Small Town and Rural Ministry), to cover travel for representatives to attend the 2006 ELCMA assembly
 

$750

Accessibility Team, to fund the work of the task force

Trinity Lutheran Church, Bechtelsville, for support of a "40 Days of Purpose" program engaging the congregation and community
 

$2,000

Jerusalem Lutheran Church, Schuylkill Haven, in support of a youth mission trip to Haiti to work with "Food for the Poor"
 

$1,000

Christian Action Council of the Palmerton Area Churches, providing social services to those in need in the community
 

$100

New Jerusalem Lutheran Church, Saucon Valley, towards the cost of a parking lot fair designed to connect the congregation and community
 

$1,500

209 Partnership for Substance Free Communities, Schuykill County, for the costs involved in securing 501C3 status
 

$500

Hope Lutheran Church, Reading, for software and other program costs connected to Hope’s Hangout, a program for young people
 

$600

Lutheran Churches Cooperative Bear Creek Summer Day Camp, Wilkes-Barre, for camp scholarships
 

$2,000

Hope Lutheran Church, Reading, in support of a pilot project to demonstrate the need for a social worker working out of the Lutheran churches in Northwest Reading
 

$1,100

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Bethlehem, for the Pulpiteers Puppet Ministry, a "Christian ministry…that strives to encourage people in their faith and daily life through Biblical and life stories"
 

$500

St. Luke Lutheran Church, Allentown, for the programming at the "St. Luke Neighborhood Center"
 

$500

Southern Lehigh Lutheran Ministry, for costs involved in being part of the Coopersburg Community Day
 

$1,000

New Life Lutheran Church, New Tripoli, for the work of the "Grace Connection Corporation," a community effort to meet the needs of the needy

The Accessibility Team, a task force of the synod, for providing resources and presentations about accessibility concerns to congregations and other gatherings

$700

World Hunger Appeal Team, a task force of the synod, for promotion of the World Hunger Appeal

$2,200

Parish Nurse Task Force, a task force of the synod, for the development and support of congregational parish nurse programs

$1,500

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Easton, for a Lenten/Easter worship/evangelism effort done cooperatively with other neighborhood churches

$2,500

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Reading, for start up costs of a before/after school program

$2,500

Zion Union Church, Maxatawny, in support of a mission trip to the Blackfeet Tribe Community in Browning, Montana

$2,000

St. James Lutheran Church, Hobbie, in support of a youth mission trip done through YouthWorks

$540

Lehighton Lutheran Cooperative, towards the costs involved in beginning a support group for blended families

$500

St. Luke Lutheran Church, Allentown, for their neighborhood VCS

$3,500

St. Luke Lutheran Church, Allentown, for the programming at the “St. Luke Neighborhood Center"

$5,000

West Berks Mission District, in support of their summer day camp

$2,000

Trinity Lutheran Church, Towanda, for the work of the "Grace Connection Corporation," a community effort to meet the needs of the need

Fall 2004

$3,000

Schuylkill Mission District, for materials and expenses related to efforts to recruit volunteers for the Schuylkill Mission District Volunteer Home Care program.

$1,000

Trinity Lutheran Church, Towanda, to support a new ecumenical non-profit organization designed to build on the congregation's efforts to provide emergency assistance in response to the needs caused by business closings in the community.

$5,000

The Birdsboro Ministerium, including St. Paul Lutheran Church, Douglassville, and St. Mark Lutheran Church, Birdsboro, to assist in forming “an outreach and relational evangelism network using LOVE, INC. services [that] will include referral and assistance."

$200

New Jerusalem Lutheran Church, Saucon Valley, towards the cost of a parking lot fair designed to connect the congregation and community

$2,000

Christ Lutheran Church, Lower Saucon, for start-up costs in preparing to begin a preschool program.

$2,000

St. Luke Lutheran Church, Allentown, in support of programs at the "St. Luke Neighborhood Center," which hosts a number of programs and groups that are important in the church’s inner city neighborhood.

$2,000

Salem Belleman’s Church, Mohrsville, for a Navajo mission trip to Rock Point, Arizona, a first-time effort by the church.

$100

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Coopersburg, in support of an arts program for children. They continue to develop programs as part of their "Safe Haven for Children" initiative begun 2 years ago.

$1,000

Hope Lutheran Church, Reading, for children’s programming. Outreach to neighborhood children is an important component of this inner-city congregation’s program.

$2,500

St. Joseph Lutheran Church, Allentown, for their Village Partners after-school program. This inner-city program has been reaching children for 9 years and is an important component in a vital outreach effort to a racially diverse neighborhood.

Winter 2004

$750

The Accessibility Team, a task force of the synod, for presentations about accessibility concerns to congregations and other gatherings

$700

World Hunger Appeal Team, a task force of the synod, for promotion of the World Hunger Appeal

$3,000

Parish Nurse Task Force,a task force of the synod, for the development and support of congregational parish nurse programs

$150

Trinity Lutheran Church, Reading, in support of a “Divorced and Separated” support group at the church

$2,500

St. John Lutheran Church, Emmaus, for help with the start up costs for a Christian pre-school program

$500

Friedens Church, Shartlesville, for a welcome center that is part of their community outreach effort

$5,000

West Berks Mission District, for their summer day camp

$1,500

Good News Lutheran Parish, Shohola, Lackawaxen, and Greely, for their "Good News-Good Cheer Food Pantry"

$3,000

St. Luke Lutheran Church, Allentown, for the programs of the "St. Luke Neighborhood Center"

$500

St. Luke Lutheran Church, Allentown, for their neighborhood VBS

$600

Good Shepherd, Messiah, St. John and St. Mark Lutheran Churches, Wilkes-Barre, for scholarships in their summer day camp program

$1,000

St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church, Allentown, for their Thursday night neighborhood family program

$125

Trinity, Hazleton, for the summer program conducted by their nursery/preschool

$350

Christ, Hellertown, for after-school activities at their Christian Learning Center

Fall 2003

$467.86

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Palmerton, for Carry Their Pack Two Miles, a program involving the community in providing Christmas gifts to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and children in those countries.

$1,350

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Easton, to initiate three teen support groups.

$1,000

Grace Lutheran Church, Macungie, St. John Lutheran Church, Emmaus, and Zion Lutheran Church, Old Zionsville, to initiate a responsible sexual behavior training program for teens using already trained students from Muhlenberg College.

$800

New Life Lutheran Church, New Tripoli, to initiate an Angel Tree Program and other programming with the children of incarcerated parents.

$500

Dinkey Memorial Lutheran Church, Ashfield, to begin a food pantry.

Summer 2003

$300

St. James Lutheran Church, Hobbie, for a congregational evangelism program based on A Joyful Harvest: A Program of 'Welcome' Evangelism that involves all members in reaching out to invite the community.

$150

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Coopersburg, for a smoking prevention program that is part of the congregation’s Safe Haven initiative.

$1,300

Advent Lutheran Church, West Lawn, to pay for background checks on volunteers for a new after-school program being developed in cooperation with a local Methodist congregation.

$3,300

The Wilkes-Barre Free Medical Clinic, to provide health care for the needy in the community. The clinic grew out of the work of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and a neighboring Roman Catholic parish.

$3,000

The Western Berks Free Medical Clinic, Inc., to provide health care for the needy in the community. The clinic is housed at and is a project of St. Daniel Lutheran Church in Robesonia.

$700

Trinity Lutheran Church, Towanda, to provide emergency assistance in response to the needs caused by business closings in the community. This is an initial step as the congregation spear heads an effort to organize a community response.

$700

Trinity Lutheran Church, Robesonia, to work with Family Life Services to develop a Wounded Healers Ministry that will link people experiencing life traumas with others who have experienced similar struggles.

$2,000

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Dushore, for their food pantry that provides important help in Sullivan County, an area with very few community services. The pantry is supported by seven area churches.

$2,500

Zion Lutheran Church, Weatherly, for their After School/No School program.

Spring 2003

$1,100

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Dallas, to help with startup costs for their parish nurse ministry. This was a challenge grant, matching funds raised by the congregation for this new effort.

$1,000

Hope Lutheran Church, Reading, for their summer arts camp for youth. Outreach to neighborhood children is an important component of this inner-city congregation’s program.

$500

St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Allentown, for a summer evening program for neighborhood families. This is part of a congregational strategy to become re-rooted in their neighborhood.

$6,250

Christ Lutheran Church, Glenside, for their Summer Youth Ambassadors program. This multi-cultural congregation runs a summer day camp in cooperation with the YMCA. Summer Youth Ambassadors receive leadership training as part of the summer effort.

$ 2,075

Synod Parish Nurse Task Force for materials and training as they encourage and support Parish Nurse programs in synod congregations.

$2,500

St. Joseph’s Lutheran Church, Allentown, for their Village Partners after-school program. This inner-city program has been reaching children for 8 years and is an important component in a vital outreach effort to a racially diverse neighborhood.

$5,000

West Berks Mission District for their summer day camp. This program runs for 8 weeks at 8 different sites, reaching an average of 50 children per week.

$600

The Lutheran churches of Wilkes-Barre for their summer day camp. Four downtown congregations reach neighborhood children in this camp done cooperatively with Bear Creek Camp.

$550

Trinity Lutheran Church, Hazleton, for the summer children’s program related to their nursery school.

$1,000

Zion-Moselem Lutheran Church, Kutztown, for their youth mission trip. This is a first-time effort for the youth program of this rural church.

$300

The synod’s World Hunger Appeal Team. The team has representatives from each mission district. The team provides encouragement and support to congregational efforts to promote the appeal.

$2,500

$500

St. Luke Lutheran Church, Allentown, for the program at their Neighborhood Center and $500 for their neighborhood VBS. This inner-city congregation is reaching out to their diverse neighborhood in a variety of creative ways.