Help Small Town Food Pantry Reach Out to Community Request from Immanuel Lutheran Church , Lindenwood On July 11, 2009, Immanuel Lutheran Church in rural Lindenwood , Illinois stepped out in faith and began a new community outreach by starting up a food pantry to supplement the needs of anyone living in the Davis Junction, Monroe Center, Esmond and Lindenwood communities. With an average Sunday attendance of 95, the church, has been an integral part of the Lindenwood faith community for 137 years. It is located in the Northern Illinois District's West region, north of I-88 and west of Aurora. More significantly, Immanuel is also about 20 miles south of Rockford, Illinois, a manufacturing hub, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state and in the country. Now known as the "Good Samaritan Christian Food Pantry and Exchange", the food pantry has been operating each Saturday between the hours of 10 AM and 2 PM from their family room addition and is totally staffed by volunteers from the church. Church members have also donated all the food items being offered and have created the shelving for food storage. With this new outreach, 15 different households have been blessed since the food pantry began. Now, Immanuel Lutheran is reaching out to YOU so that they can continue this worth- while and much needed outreach. The number families being served is increasing each week, making it difficult for this small church to keep the food shelves stocked. The nearest food pantry that serves the same general area is 13 miles away and is only open twice a month for a little over one hour each time so the need to keep Immanuel's pantry operating on its present schedule is great. If your congregation or group is looking for a project and would like to help the Immanuel Pantry contact Dianna Bonfield at Lutheran Church Charities (866-455-6466) to learn more on how to set up a food drive.
Support for Mission Trip to Kenya Request from Peter Imlah, Director of Mission and Outreach, Lutheran Church Charities Dear Friends in Christ, I have been given an opportunity to join with Salem Lutheran Church, Tomball, Texas (salem4u.com) on a mission trip to provide a prescription eyeglass clinic to people in need in Kenya, Africa, November 12-22 2009. I am really excited about this opportunity to minister in Kenya. During Salem's last trip to Kenya in May they were able to serve and share the Gospel Message with more than 15,000 people at 5 different locations! The November trip will cost me just over $3,500 (not including passport and shots), with the biggest portion coming from airfare. This is a big number, but I believe our God is bigger than that hurdle. Any support would be appreciated. I would love the opportunity to partner with you in this endeavor. Due to the costs of rising airfare I needed to reserve my tickets by August 12th. The remaining funds are due September 4th. Would you prayerfully consider and respond to my request by Sunday, August 30th? If I have 50-100 people partner with me I would get where I need to be quite