Grace Pensacola Hosts Special Outreach Event

The senior high youth at Grace Lutheran in Pensacola, FL, hosted a community outreach night of great food and uplifting praise music by Vickie Truett, a Christian singer / songwriter. Free will donations for the dinner went to help fund the summer 2019 trip to the LCMS National Youth Gathering.

The youth, along with parents and friends, spent many hours preparing for this event. They cooked an Italian fare dinner for about 100 people, including gulf shrimp and smoked salmon appetizers and a chef salad, followed by pasta and lasagna choices as the entrees. There was a wonderful dessert bar loaded with many good things to complete the meal. After dinner we were happy to welcome Vickie Truett in concert to Grace Lutheran. Vickie brought an encouraging and uplifting message of faith during the hard times as the Lord carried her through her darkest hours. She shared about her walk with God through songs she has written over the years, including “Adonai,” “Tears in a Bottle,” and “Here Am I.” This was our first time hosting an outreach event quite like this and we are happy to say that the dinner and concert drew people from the community, friends from the community, friends from other local churches, and extended family of Grace members. We are thankful for Thrivent Action Team funds to help us host and promote the event as a community outreach. Leftover food was sent home with a group attending from a local Christian rehab center, to help them stretch their tight food budget.

 

Celebrating the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

At Baton Rouge Lutheran School (BRLS), our kindergarten class celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a very unique way. The students decorated cookies to look like themselves to celebrate their many differences. They learned that Dr. King and his friends peacefully fought for our right to live, work, and go to school and church with one another, no matter what we look like on the outside! (What an awesome teachable moment for young minds!) Kenzie Woltemath, DCE and kindergarten teacher, said the children told her, “Miss Kenzie, we all have different skins but that’s okay! We’re all just some kids!” BRLS is a ministry of Trinity Lutheran Church in Baton Rouge.

Installation of Rev. Ken DeSoto

On Sunday, January 6, 2019, at 4:00 p.m., Rev. Kenneth DeSoto was installed as the pastor of St. Stephen Lutheran Church in New Orleans, LA. Rev. Eric Johnson, President of the LCMS Southern District, was the Installer and Preacher, and Rev. David Goodine was the Liturgist.

Rev. Jerome N. Terry, Rev. Richard Rudnik, Rev. Dr. Craig Rinker, and Rev. Robert H. Belknap J.D. also participated in the Installation Service. A dinner in Schoenhardt Hall followed the service.

Pastor DeSoto is also a Chaplain for the New Orleans Police Department and serves District 3 and 4. The members of St. Stephen Lutheran welcome Pastor Ken and his wife, Esther, and wish to extend our thanks to Rev. James Taglauer, Rev. Dr. Craig Rinker, and Rev. David Goodine for serving as interim pastors during our vacancy.

Pictured left to right –
Front row: Rev. Eric Johnson, Rev. Kenneth DeSoto, Rev. Jerome N. Terry, Rev. David Goodine
Back row: Rev. Richard Rudnik, Rev. Dr. Craig Rinker, Rev. Robert H. Belknap J.D.

Community Food Pantry at Shepherd of the Bay

Shepherd of the Bay Community Food Pantry would like to thank our community for their donations to help disadvantaged citizens. It is with this support that we are able to meet this growing need.

The food pantry is open twice a month: the second and fourth Tuesday from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. On average, we provide about 80 families (or 140 men, women, and children) with basic food items, which is very important to those who need food. Anyone needing food assistance, please come by the food pantry.

Last year we were able to purchase over 26,000 pounds of food from Feeding the Gulf Coast, at less than $0.21 per pound. We are able to do this with the continued support of our community. Thank you again to all who have donated food items or cash. In the picture, a special thanks to the pastor and members of the Episcopal Church of the Advent; Lillian United Methodist Church; St. Mark’s Lutheran Church and LWML, Elberta; and to the church family and LWML of Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, Lillian.

Christmas Program at Our Redeemer in Clinton

The children of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Clinton, MS, recently treated the congregation to a beautifully performed Christmas program. They worked hard to learn all of the songs and lines and did a masterful job of telling the story of Jesus and bringing the true meaning of Christmas to Our Redeemer.  The group was led by Karen Berger and Cindy Namanny.