![LCS Executive Director, Rev. Dr. Jennifer Ollikainen, strengthening congregational relationships and building community connections at Little Zion Lutheran Church, Telford, PA.](http://www.libertylutheran.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/jenn-o-relationships-article-photo-300x225.jpg)
By Rev. Dr. Jennifer Ollikainen, Executive Director, Lutheran Congregational Services, a ministry of Liberty Lutheran
Tap Into Your Networks
The community of Christ creates a network of relationships and service that is woven through our lives, including work, play, congregation and community. These relationships are among Lutheran Congregational Services’ richest resources and are vital to helping newly-arrived refugees, finding donations to distribute through the SOS Warehouse, expanding congregational programs, and empowering community preparedness through our Lutheran Disaster Response-Eastern PA program.
How can we partner with you to strengthen our congregational relationships and build community connections?
- Does your place of work have room for refugees to volunteer and gain work experience?
- Do you know someone who can find low-cost or no-cost donations to furnish an apartment for a newly-arrived refugee or connect us with damaged packages of diapers for the Philadelphia Diaper Bank?
- Are you a part of a community organization that does service projects? Suggest a diaper drive, a collection of household goods or school supplies to benefit refugees, or raise funds for disaster response.
- Do you have connections in commercial real estate to find donated warehouse space for the SOS Network and Philadelphia Diaper Bank?
- Who are your local community leaders? Ask them about disaster preparedness, needs in the community and organizations that are known to help and explore ways that we can work together to help.
- Do you have contacts to organizations that offer grants to service organizations?
Kids Can Help Too!
Vacation Bible School Mission Project Ideas
We invite children to collect items to support newly-arrived refugees in Allentown, Philadelphia and Lancaster during Vacation Bible School. This year, Lutheran Children and Family Service will resettle about 500 people through these three offices! One of our staff members is happy to visit your VBS program to share more about this ministry.
Collection Items
- Mops and brooms for indoor use
- Bed pillows
- Land-line telephones
- Can openers
- Small, basic calculators
- Flashlights with batteries
- Shaving cream
- Wallets
Contact our office at 610-770-9205 or info@lutherancongregationalservices.org to share your contacts and get involved today.
Lutheran Congregational Services is a service of Liberty Lutheran, a social ministry organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Liberty Lutheran annually provides vital resources to more than 61,000 individuals from the earliest stages of life to the advanced stages of aging, through its family of services in Pennsylvania.