Celebrate the Advent season. Consider these initiatives when you pray to end world hunger.
A Free and Easy way to Give to the ELCA
Raise money for ELCA causes while on-line shopping – just sign up for a free iGive account and each of your on-line purchases at over 900 stores will generate an ELCA donation. There are already 350,000 iGive members who, since 1977, have helped 30,000 causes and charities. All you have to do is add a tiny button to your browser that tells participating stores that you want your shopping to support the ELCA. Some of the participating stores are: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, QVC, Home Depot, Macy’s, Bed Bath and Beyond, Staples, Expedia, Orbitz, and JC Penny. Make your Christmas shopping work for you and visit www.igive.com.
And while we are talking about shopping…
Don’t forget to check out the ELCA Good Gifts catalog when considering how you will holiday shop. Your kids and grandkids will learn so much more about the meaning of Christ’s birth when you show them how to feed his sheep!
ELCA World Hunger Video Series
The ELCA World Hunger Video Series features the stories of four different individuals whose lives have been impacted by gifts to ELCA World Hunger. The short videos average six minutes and are perfect for Sunday morning offerings, temple talks, adult forums and youth gatherings. Go to www.elca.org and click on the Our Faith in Action button for details.
North Riverdale Lutheran Church, Dayton
North Riverdale designated May, 2011 as Malaria Month and hung a mosquito net at the back of the church. People were asked to donate money by tossing coins and bills into a large container. Sunday bulletins and the church newsletter were filled with facts (from the Southern Ohio Synod web page) about the disease and how just a few dollars could save a life. Kids and adults had fun tossing money into the container and $725 was raised in one month. Contact Pastor Monte Stevens for details at NRLChurch@aol.com .
St John’s Lutheran Church, Covington
In September, 2010, youth minister Laura Schmidt and the congregation’s children set a goal to purchase fifty malaria nets within the next year. They placed a large jar in the sanctuary where children (and adults) placed their coins each week during the children’s sermon. In July 2011, the children presented a check to the Southern Ohio Synod for $500, enough to purchase 50 malaria nets.