Sharing
These ministries call us to ‘Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.’ and ‘Love our neighbors as ourselves through acts of justice, mercy, and love.
Social Ministry
Grassroots Day Resource Center
Women & Children’s Shelter
Sewing Circle
Prayer Shawl Ministry
Home of Our Own
Abby’s Carts of Courage
Christmas Baskets
Stephen Ministry
Social Ministry
Grassroots Day Resource Center
Every other month, volunteers from First Lutheran prepare lunch and dinner to serve at the Grassroots Day Resource Center in Laurel, MD, which serves individuals experiencing homelessness in Howard County.
Two volunteers coordinate donations of food items by members of the congregation, purchase any additional items needed, and coordinate the food preparation. Members of the Men’s Bible Study group volunteers deliver food items to Grassroots and help serve the meals.
Women & Children’s Shelter
This ministry provides dinner to the residents of the Women and Children’s Center, located in the basement of Christ Lutheran Church in Baltimore, every other month.
Parishioners sign up to donate food and deliver it to the Social Hall, where volunteers prepare the meal and then it is transported to the Women and Children’s Center.
Sewing Circle
Sewing Circle makes mission quilts, in support of Lutheran World Relief (LWR) efforts worldwide, and isolette covers (baby quilts), for premature babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Howard County General Hospital.
Lutheran World Relief sends quilts to countries with people in need of warmth and comfort.
Sewing skills are not a requirement for participation; there are also opportunities to cut and sort fabric or design quilts. Members may also work on sewing projects from home if they are not able to attend meetings in person.
Prayer Shawl Ministry
For the past sixteen years, members have created hundreds of knitted/crocheted shawls and lap robes. They are prayerfully and lovingly crafted to serve as a tangible reminder of the warm and loving presence of God and the prayers of God’s people. They are given to people who have lost a loved one, undergone medical procedures, learned of a cancer diagnosis, lost a house due to a fire, an illness, flooded home, or experienced another form of loss or hardship.
The prayer shawl group has branched out to knitting/crocheting scarves for Meals on Wheels clients to help them stay warm during the cold weather. Additionally, group members make baby blankets for the Linus project and pocket prayer shawls, which are approximately 3” x 5”, small enough to be carried in a pocket, placed on a sick person, or held while in prayer.
Home of Our Own
Home of our Own-Howard (HOOO) is a local non-profit organization dedicated to assisting persons and families who are transitioning from homelessness to an apartment.
The mission of the organization is to provide furniture and household items at no cost to all individuals and families as they transition from homelessness to permanent housing in Howard County.
First Lutheran often serves as a collection site for donations of new and gently used household items. Large items, such as furniture, can be collected from your home. Email donate@homeofourownhoward.org to arrange pickup and please attach photos of the furniture items.
Abby’s Carts of Courage
Abby’s Carts of Courage gifts children with cancer a new wagon to help them maneuver through their cancer journey. Many times, the treatments leave the young patients fatigued and weak. Strollers are a great option, but have a weight limit, making the wagons a much better option. Abby’s Carts of Courage stuffs each wagon with items to help the young cancer warriors keep their mind off of their diagnosis and recharge their spirits. These items have been specially chosen by Abby herself!
Our mission is to fund three wagons a year, along with their contents, for distribution to young cancer patients. We are asking for Amazon gift cards that will be delivered to Abby’s Carts of Courage, for them to shop, and deliver the wagon stuffed with goodies, to the next cancer warrior in need. Collections for gift cards will be done twice a year.
Christmas Baskets
Every year for over two (2) decades, First Lutheran disciples have come through in many ways to bring smiles to the faces of the 144 families who receive these wonderful gifts around Christmas. The need to provide assistance to these families is very evident.
A significant part of this ministry is the collection of financial donations that are specifically designated for these food baskets and other social ministry needs including our cherished relationship with the Pangani school in Kenya.
Stephen Ministry
Stephen Ministry is the one-to-one lay caring ministry. Stephen Ministers are congregation members trained by Stephen Leaders to offer high-quality, one-to-one Christian care to people going through difficult times (grief, loneliness, divorce, hospitalization, disability, job loss, and many other issues). A Stephen Minister usually meets with a person once a week for about an hour. Stephen Ministers listen, care, encourage, support, and provide emotional and spiritual support to hurting people. The care you receive is confidential, free, and very helpful. Stephen Ministers gather with their Stephen Leaders for supervision and continuing education.
Other Sharing Ministries
Funeral Reception Support
Prayer Ministry
Angel Tree
Financial Management
Audit Committee
Finance Committee
Memorial Gifts
Tellers