On a Mission to Serve 

By Heather Green 

For those of us with school-aged children, June typically signifies the start of summer vacation, a time where parents realize how underpaid and underappreciated teachers really are. But June also means Christ Lutheran is getting ready for Vacation Bible School. I am personally very excited for VBS this year because it is going to be a milestone year for our family; my niece, who has attended VBS every year since she was three, will be volunteering as an aide in my daughter’s class for my daughter’s first year of VBS. Looking back over the years my niece has attended VBS, I have come to appreciate how the children learn about Jesus and also learn about helping others. Children are not only taught about being good Christians, they are given an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned by helping others through the mission projects that VBS sponsors every year. This year VBS is supporting Lutheran Church Charities as well as Together We Cope.
Lutheran Church Charities’ mission is “to share the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those who are suffering and in need.” One way LCC provides comfort is through their LCC-K9 Comfort Dog Ministry. The Comfort Dog Ministry is a “national ministry utilizing the unique skills of dogs, specifically Golden Retrievers, to open opportunities to touch people with mercy and compassion.” LCC has a long history with the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod that extends back to 1947. Unlike other charities, one hundred percent of the money donated to LCC is used for charity work.
Additionally, Together We Cope, located in Tinley Park is another local charity that addresses the needs of families in our community. The mission of TWC is “to bridge the gap for Southland residents in temporary crisis by providing food, shelter, clothing and referrals, empowering them to return to self-sufficiency.” The TWC outreach program that our VBS students will be supporting is “Sock it to Me.” This program takes donations of socks and underwear to provide to school-age children as part of their back-to-school items for the fall. These items are a much needed but often overlooked necessity for children to help them comfortably return to school in the fall. TWC helps families from Bremen, Orland, Worth, Tinley and Palos.

As a congregation, we are reaching out to ask you to help our VBS mission projects succeed. There will be a free will offering after the church services on June 19th. We are hoping to collect $2500 that we will split with LCC for the support of their K9 Comfort Dog Ministry. Additionally, on June 19th there will be a display for donations to the “Sock it to Me” project. Donations will continue to be accepted during VBS, the week June 20 – 24.