Mission Servants Activity of the Month

Make the Reverse Advent Calendar

Christmas: God’s totally pure, unconditional, inconceivably awesome, self-denying TRUE LOVE. God gave us His Only Son! The Reverse Advent Box really celebrates the meaning of the holiday by giving instead of receiving. It is sharing God’s love by giving to those in need.

Instead of the traditional Advent Calendar where you or a family member receives a small gift from the calendar box each day in preparation of Christmas, starting December 1st until the 24th each day gift one item into your calendar basket or box each day. This could be an item of food, clothes, toys, or whatever you choose. And on December 24th take it to your local food pantry or food bank. What a wonderfully special event for you and your family!

Download this flier to print and share!

“These ladies, pictured, are in my LWML circle in St. Paul’s Church in Fort Dodge, Iowa. They collected and prepared over 100 pill bottles to send to Ohio for the Matthew 25 Ministries. I need to get a BIG box to send them. Thanks, Judy Rozek”

Matthew 25: Ministries is an international humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization helping more than 20 million people in need each year. This ministry is requesting empty pill bottles, so that these safe storage containers can be sent to third world countries, like Africa, where they are needed to protect medications from the elements. People there have a shortage of containers, which will keep their medications clean, dry, and out of the reach of children. The Matthew 25: Ministries is accepting, prescription and over-the-counter pill bottles, Large and small pill bottles, bottles with and without secure caps (child resistant). The bottles included in shipments of medical supplies must have an all plastic lid. The address of the Matthew 25 Ministries: 11060 Kenwood Road, Cincinnati, OH 45242

The Gospel Outreach Committee would love to hear about, and share, your mission service activities! Please contact the Vice President of Gospel Outreach here. Thank you!

Related Resources

• Mission Service Activities Archive
• Winter Resources
• Resources for Advent

Mission Servants Activity of the Month

Making Clothing Protectors for Bethesda

The Bethesda Auxiliary needs help in sewing clothing protectors for the people they serve. The protectors are used for meals and snacks. In one state alone, 750 are used each year. By sewing protectors, you will provide a durable, money saving, fun and dignified item to help support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Have fun and be creative in your choices of fabric!
Download the pattern

Download this flier to print and share!

The talents of more than 3,400 Bethesda Auxiliary members create connections — in the church and in the community — that help the people Bethesda supports pursue their faith and lead independent lives. Bethesda Auxiliary supports Bethesda’s mission to enhance the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through services that share the good news of Jesus Christ. The Auxiliary has been serving people with disabilities for over 60 years.

The Auxiliary’s reach expands beyond the 13 states in which Bethesda (headquartered in Watertown, Wisconsin for over 112 years) provides services. Men, women and youth pray, raise money, volunteer and donate goods to the Bethesda Thrift Shops, lead Bible studies and devotions and craft items for the people Bethesda supports. Members engage people at conventions and pastoral conferences across the country. The Auxiliary continues to grow nationwide, providing service opportunities to people of all ages.

The Gospel Outreach Committee would love to hear about, and share, your mission service activities! Please contact the Vice President of Gospel Outreach here. Thank you!

View past Mission Servants Activities

Mission Servants Activity of the Month

Breast Cancer Survival Kit

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is an annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease. In preparation for October you, your society, and/or your zone can create these Breast Cancer Survival Care Kits for someone you might know that has been impacted by breast cancer or for your local hospital and breast cancer support groups.

Breast Cancer Survival Kits may include:

• Blessings and Prayers for Those with Cancer
• A pretty scarf
• Knitted prayer shawl
• Bottled water
• Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cancer Book
• Homemade soup mixes
• Large soup mug
• Lip balm
• Unscented travel-size hand sanitizer
• in a word by Heidi Floyd
• A Woman’s Bible
• Cozy socks
• Personal notes tied together with ribbon

Items may be placed in a bag for easy carrying and storing. A card with your church’s name, address, and contact information may be included along with an inspirational message like a Mustard Seed.

Download this flier to print and share!

Find Lutheran Hour Ministries Project Connect Booklets on cancer to include in your survival kits at www.lhm.org/projectconnect/booklets.asp.

At the LWML Iowa West District Convention on June 23–25, the ingathering and servant event went hand-inhand and were supported by their mission-minded women. The ingathering of t-shirts were made into diapers that went to Haiti. Another ingathering included crayon packs and folders that were used for making many 15-page Christian coloring books to be handed out at many events, county fairs throughout the district, and the Iowa State Fair. Some even went to Alaska. The third servant event was taking Christmas card fronts and assembling them into books that tell the story of Jesus. These went to Mission Central to be sent with missionaries and to Alaska. Wow, three servant events!

The Gospel Outreach Committee would love to hear about, and share, your mission service activities! Please contact the Vice President of Gospel Outreach here. Thank you!

View past Mission Servants Activities

Mission Servants Activity of the Month

Sponsor a No-Cost Garage Sale!

Have you ever heard of a “No-Cost Garage Sale”?

“No-Cost Garage Sales” are a unique twist to the average garage sale. This No-Cost Garage Sale isn’t really a sale at all. All the items are given to the people that come. Members of the society and congregation donate items, such as clothing, bedding, baby supplies, kitchen items, small furniture and bicycles. The LWML (or church) members may purchase packages of diapers, Arch books, etc. as a special gift for families that come, too. New and used Bibles could also be available. The items that are collected, are sorted and set up on tables. Members can publicize the “No-Sale Garage Sale” with food pantries and other organizations in the area who are supporting people in need. Items left at the end can be donated to a Goodwill or Salvation Army type of organization and then the items would be received by those in need there, too.

Download this flier to print and share!

St. Peter Lutheran Church of Deshler, NE had the idea of the “No-Sale Garage Sale” and had a successful day this past June. The garage sale was advertised by fliers in the local stores as well as an ad with the other garage sale ads in the newspaper. Pamphlets about their church were set on tables and put in bags, but the main purpose of helping others was fulfilled. One shopper commented “This is such a blessing to our family!”

The Gospel Outreach Committee would love to hear about, and share, your mission service activities! Please contact the Vice President of Gospel Outreach here. Thank you!

View past Mission Servants Activities

Mission Servants Activity of the Month

“Pack the Pantry 5k”

Establish a “Pack the Pantry 5k” for Your Local Food Pantry

Did you know that hunger exists in literally every county in America? According to a study by Feeding America, one in seven Americans, 46 million people, rely on food pantries and meal service programs to feed themselves and their families nationwide. Twenty-five percent of military families need help putting food on the table. Food pantries rely on food donations to assist in meeting the need. Your society/church can establish a Pack the Pantry 5K race/walk for your community to assist the food pantry near you. The race/walk entry fee is either 25 cans of food or $25.

Every day women and men are walking, jogging, and running to lead a healthier life. This 5K just gives their walk a greater purpose. It will help feed people in need!

Download this flier to print and share!

The 6th Annual Pack the Pantry 5k was held June 11, 2016 at St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Dedham, Massachusetts. The timed race started and ended at St. Luke’s Church. This congregation established the annual race in 2010 to support their local food pantry. About 100 runners/walkers signed up to run/walk the race. There are “ribboned” winners in each of the men’s and women’s different age categories. The race grows each year! There is also an eight week evening drop-in program at the high school track, called “Couch to 5K”, to help people get ready for the race. For more information on how to establish a “Pack the Pantry 5K” in your community you can contact the St. Luke’s Church at office@stlukesdedham.org .

The Gospel Outreach Committee would love to hear about, and share, your mission service activities! Please contact the Vice President of Gospel Outreach here. Thank you!

View past Mission Servants Activities

Mission Servants Activity of the Month

Recycling Pill Bottles

Help improve the quality of health care in hospitals and health clinics in developing countries

Help improve the quality of health care in hospitals and health clinics in developing countries by saving and donating medical supplies such as pill bottles.

What do you do with your old prescription and over-the-counter pill bottles? Do you throw them away? Did you know that you can send them to developing countries? In developing countries, medicines — when obtainable — are often dispensed into hands, pockets, leaves or any other available container. Matthew 25:Ministries in Cincinnati, Ohio accepts donations of clean, empty pill bottles to help improve health care quality in developing nations.

Medicine can then be distributed in sterile containers to the poorest of the poor. This plastic recycling program can also keep thousands of bottles out of landfills each year. Placing a nickel, dime, or quarter in each pill bottle helps with shipping costs to send the bottles to developing countries.

You can also check with your local free or low-income medical clinics or animal shelter to see if they accept used prescription bottles.

Download this flier to print and share!

The LWML New England District’s 2016 Convention Gifts from the Heart were gathered for the New England Division, Orphan Grain Train, Terryville, CT. The 100 women in attendance filled one third of a truck with Hygiene Kits (1 bath towel, washcloth, soap, toothbrush, comb, 6 Band-Aids, wrapped in a towel and tied with string or ribbon) underwear and socks, caps, hats, gloves, scarves, pillowcase dresses (see directions at www.lwml-ned.org/pillow-case-dresses-for-africa) and monetary donations.

The Gospel Outreach Committee would love to hear about, and share, your mission service activities! Please contact the Vice President of Gospel Outreach here. Thank you!

View past Mission Servants Activities

Mission Servants Activity of the Month

Spring Nursing Home Projects

Deliver Bird Feeders to Nursing Homes and Start a Raised Garden

Nursing homes usually have outdoor common spaces. Since many residents enjoy watching and feeding the birds, your group can deliver and hang bird feeders. By hanging these feeders, you are contributing to the pleasure of residents.

Your group might also enjoy building an accessible raised garden bed in these spaces, too. This enables the residents to grow vegetables and flowers. These beds are generally a wooden rectangular box about 24 to 30 inches tall, filled with dirt.

Gardeners can easily plant and care for their gardens from a wheelchair or walker without needing to bend to the ground. These gardens encourage the residents to do some light physical activity and they will have pride in their beautiful garden.

Download this flier to print and share!

The LWML at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Rock Island, IL tries to do servant work as much as they can. In January, they put together personal care kits for the local shelter. Starting with the items from the LWML mission servants page, a call was made to the shelter for additional ideas to fit their needs. At the end of the LWML meeting, they added the items to each bag. One of the members took the bags down to the shelter the next day.

These small works involve all members of the church because they can donate to the kits and the LWML puts them together. A small report was put in the church bulletin so the congregation knew how many kits were made. It only took a few minutes the evening of the meeting and everyone knew the items were needed. Their special touch was that they included Mustard Seeds in each bag. What a great way to share our Lord with others.

The Gospel Outreach Committee would love to hear about, and share, your mission service activities! Please contact the Vice President of Gospel Outreach here. Thank you!

View past Mission Servants Activities