Mission Service Activity of the Month

January 2022:   Send Valentines to LWML District Mission Grant Recipients

Let’s support and encourage our district LWML mission grant recipients by sending them valentines. Share with them the knowledge that they are loved and are being lifted up in prayer. 

What you need to prepare:

• Contact your district LWML Vice President of Gospel Outreach or Mission Grants Committee Chairman for names and addresses.
• Find Christian valentines online and print off different styles or buy boxed valentines at the discount store.
• At your group meeting spend a few minutes adding a personal note or prayer for each ministry.
• Encourage group members to bring postage stamps to the meeting.
• Make a packet of valentines, envelopes, and address labels for each member in your group.
• Ask for one or two volunteers to deliver the valentines to the post office.

Think what a blessing it will be for your district LWML mission grant recipients to receive all these heartfelt messages and prayers.

Extra credit: Take pictures of this service activity and submit them to share on your district website, in your district newsletter, or email them to the LWML Gospel Outreach Committee Chairman.

Gospel Focus

. . . serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality (Romans 12:11b–13).

Devotion as You Plan:

As you plan this service activity, you may want to share with your ladies the devotion: Modern Day Martha.

Prayer as You Plan and Prepare:

Heavenly Father, district LWML mission grant recipients are providing critical services in Your name. This month we lift up to You each of them and the work each person carries out. We pray for Your guiding hand to be upon each of them. We especially pray for Your peace and comfort for their hearts and minds as they show love to the people with whom they work. You are the God of love and we thank You for the direction that You provide. In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen.

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 Service Activities

Mission Service Activity of the Month

December 2021: Christmas Goodies

As Christmas nears, many are alone or struggling. Celebrating alone can be disheartening. A special gift may make the day a celebration easier for someone. Consider donating some special holiday items to a local food pantry. You may want to drop off gift bags at a local care center. Visit in person if possible. Find someone who will be alone and reach out with God’s love. Be sure to contact each organization to see what items are allowed and appropriate. 

Whenever possible, include a Bible verse, religious card, or inspirational item like the Legend of the Candy Cane (found online by searching for Legend of the Candy Cane).

Possible food pantry donations:

• Items to make a simple dessert along with a disposable pan to prepare it in
• Prebaked cookies with a tub of frosting and sprinkles
• Canned fruit in pretty jars
• Dried fruit
• Nuts
• Items to make a snack mix (cereal, pretzels, chocolate chips)
• High demand items

Possible care center donations:

• Christmas ornaments to hang from doors or inside rooms
• Small colorful plants – living or artificial as appropriate
• Mini Christmas tree and decorations
• Small Christmas stockings filled with special treats like:
  • Lotions
  • Roll-on essential oils
  • Playing cards
  • Nice disposable tissues
  • Note pad and pencil or pen
  • Musical greeting card
  • Food treats as allowed
  • Small stuffed animal
  • Light catcher to hang in room
  • String of LED lights with batteries
• Jigsaw puzzles
• Board games
• Food treats to be used as prizes

Stockings:

Make stockings using holiday fabric if you wish. If you make the stockings from felt or fleece you don’t have to line or finish edges. It is also possible to purchase premade stockings at many stores. This is your gift! There are no specific rules.

Make a pattern by tracing around a stocking you have or look online for patterns. Two possibilities are listed below.

• https://www.arkathwyn.com/uploads/1/0/0/6/10064964/usltr_classicchristmasstockingpdfpattern.pdf
• https://phatquartersfabric.com/2019/11/small-christmas-stocking-sewing-pattern-gift-card-money-sleeve-free-sewing-pattern-tutorial/ 

Gospel Focus

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:10–11).

Devotion as you plan and prepare:

“Got Joy?” from lwml.org devotion archives

“I Have Loved You with an Everlasting Love” from lwml.org devotion archives

Prayer as you plan and prepare

Heavenly Father, as we prepare for the coming of your Son, Jesus Christ, help us to remember others. Give us the focus to slow down and reach out to those in our community. Guide us to opportunities to share Your love through gifts and actions. Provide us with the courage and wisdom to share the Gospel with those who need to hear it. Use our voices to proclaim Your redeeming love, our feet to go on Your errands, and our hands to serve others because of You. Amen.

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 Service Activities

Mission Service Activity of the Month

November 2021: Pack the Pantry

Thanksgiving is portrayed as a time of bounty. Pictures of tables packed with luscious food are seen in grocery ads, on magazine covers, and on television. For some, those images are reminders of what they do not have. When circumstances place people in need of basic food supplies, it can be difficult to feel thankful. Consider hosting a food drive in your congregation. Contact your local food pantry and ask what is needed. Also ask what hours they are open for pick-up. Advertise those needs in your congregation. Collect items and deliver them so community members can have a full table for Thanksgiving.

Possible food pantry donations:

• Traditional Thanksgiving food items like stuffing and sweet potatoes
• Canned chicken or ham
• Simple dessert ingredients like angel food cake, fruit pie filling, and whipped cream
• Ethnic foods common in your area
• Juice
• Paper products
• Foods with pop-top lids
• Powdered milk or cocoa mix
• Disposable baking pans or serving dishes
• Can openers
• Hearty soups or chili

Remember not everyone receiving these items has an oven, microwave, or even a can opener. They may not have anything to use as serving dishes. Talk to those working at the food pantry about what is really needed.

Gospel Focus

And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise” (Luke 3:11).

Devotion as you plan and prepare:

“Sharing the Bread of Life” from LWML archived devotions. 

“5 Images of the Giving Christian” from LWML archived devotions. 

“God’s Plan for One Ordinary Woman” from LWML archived devotions. 

Prayer as you plan and prepare

Heavenly Father, Give us thankful hearts. Give us eyes to see the needs in our community. Help us gather items that will bless those in need. Let our works reflect Your love. Use our efforts to bring others to You. Help us make our churches welcoming places to those in need. Thank You for the daily bread with which you bless us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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 Service Activities

Mission Service Activity of the Month

September 2021: Prepare Breast Cancer Survival Care Kits

In preparation for October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness month, plan to create Breast Cancer Survival Care Kits. Is there a breast cancer treatment center in your hometown or a support group affiliated with your local hospital? Are there women in your congregation who have been diagnosed with breast cancer? These are the people we want to serve this month.

Do a little research. Find local businesses, clinics, or doctor offices that serve women with breast cancer. Or, make a list of the women known to members of your group or zone who you could pamper with a Breast Cancer Survival Care Kit.

Breast Cancer Survival Care Kits may include:

• A pretty scarf or hat
• Knitted prayer shawl
• Cozy socks
• Lip balm
• Travel-size hand sanitizer
• Travel mug
• Soothing flavors of tea
• Individually wrapped hard candies (butterscotch, caramel, etc.)
• Women’s devotion book
• Personal notes of encouragement tied together with a pretty ribbon
• Print off an encouragement bookmark or notecard from the LWML website. (NOTE: Encouragement bookmarks and notecards are also available in Spanish.)
• Small box of colored pencils to color the bookmark/notecard listed above.

Items can be placed in a plastic zip bag or a pretty fabric bag. A card with your church’s name, address, and contact information may be included.

Going the extra mile: Include on the card mentioned above, the phone number to call if the recipient would like to have prayers said for her.

Gospel Focus

You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:9b–10).

Devotion as You Plan:

Use the God Raises Me Up devotion found at lwml.org Program Resources>Devotions archives. This devotion also could be included in the Survival Kit.

Prayer as You Plan and Prepare

Heavenly Father, You have called us to comfort one another in times of need. Many are suffering with cancer and other illnesses. This month we lift up to You each woman impacted by breast cancer. We pray for Your healing hand upon their bodies. We especially pray for Your peace and comfort for their hearts and minds. You are the ultimate healer, and we thank You for each healing miracle that You provide. In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen.

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 Service Activities

Mission Service Activity of the Month

August 2021: Fill a Backpack with School Supplies

Millions of children live in extreme poverty in the U.S. They also may arrive on the first day of school without the supplies they need to learn. Working with your local food pantry or school, your group can help fill the needs of these children. Standard school backpacks generally contain: 

• 1 backpack
• 2–4 spiral notebooks
• 2–5 pencils
• 2 ballpoint pens
• 1 package crayons (24 count)
• 1 ruler
• 2 glue sticks
• 1 pair of scissors
• 1 eraser
• 1 package colored pencils (12 count)
• 1 pencil sharpener

Orphan Grain Train School Kits and Lutheran World Relief School Kits also assist children within our country and around the world.

Gospel Focus

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another” (John 15:16–17).

Devotion as You Plan:

You have all heard the saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Eating apples can give us energy and help keep our bodies healthy. Apples are a good fruit. God tells us to be like trees that bear good fruit. But what exactly does that mean?

Materials needed: Two baskets – one labeled “Good Fruit” and one “Bad Fruit.” The ten Bible verses listed below, written out, and cut apart; or print each verse on an apple shaped paper or tape verses to real apples. The verses should be sorted into the baskets. 

People needed: Leader and two volunteers will be needed to assist in “picking” the apples from each basket. One will read the “Bad Fruit” verses and the other the “Good Fruit” verses.

An Apple a Day

Prayer as You Plan and Prepare

Dear Lord, we are aware of the opportunities to serve children in need with school supplies. Make us brave to act and gracious to serve them, their families, and their teachers. Bless our efforts and may they be to Your glory. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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 Service Activities

Mission Service Activity of the Month

July 2021: Steady Shoulders

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22–23).

A perfect description of our God is that He is steadfast and everlasting. Steadfast is defined as unfaltering, unwavering, stable, and dependable. God is the unwavering constant in our lives. People who have experienced a trauma, such as a death of a child, struggle to be steadfast with the Lord.

There are some grieving parents who have lost themselves and the ability to “steady” themselves in the Lord as they grieve the loss of a child. An elderly woman’s daughter died in a car accident and, after 65 years, she was still unable to get over the loss of her daughter. Another woman miscarried and, five years later, still grieves the unborn baby she loved and lost. 

We encourage you to reach out to those who mourn the loss of a child by preparing comfort kits.  The comfort kit may give the grieving person a few small tools that will encourage and enable them to turn to our Lord and find peace and comfort in prayer and His Word. 

Ingathering suggestions:

Create comfort kits to share with families who have experienced the death of a child. These kits can include:

• decorated cards with comforting Bible passages
• a soothing lotion, bath salts, or candle for mom
• a journal and colored pencils
• a prayer shawl that has been blessed by the pastor
• a small wall cross, framed biblical verse, or a biblical picture of Jesus
• a donation in the child’s memory to an organization of the parents’ choice

Gospel Focus

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).

Devotion as You Plan:

Choose from one or more of these devotions from the LWML resources available online: 

• Bearing One Another’s Burdens
• Back to School in the Word!
• A Circle of Light
• Compassionate Caring
• Summertime
• Bible study: The Loss of a Child

Prayer as You Plan and Prepare

Dear Lord, we thank You for the steadfast love You provide us. When we falter and stumble, help us to remember we are saved because of the sacrifice of Your only Son. We look forward to Your heavenly kingdom that awaits, and know that those who have gone before us are embraced in Your arms. Guide us to help those who are in need and to remind them of Your steadfast love. In Your name, we pray. Amen. 

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 Service Activities

Mission Service Activity of the Month

June 2021: Why, God?

It is difficult living in a sin-filled world. Conditions like dementia can be especially challenging. A friend shared how troubling it was to visit his mother, who suffered with Alzheimer’s, as she no longer knew who he was. He said she would ask the nurse, “Who is that nice man who visits me?” She didn’t know his name or their relationship, but she did know that he cared about her. Showing compassion for this special group of people is a precious type of service. 

Contact local assisted living centers, memory care facilities, adult day care centers, or other places where people are dealing with memory loss. Ask about helping with activities or collecting needed items. Let them guide your activity planning to fit the needs of their patients.

Ingathering ideas:

• Fidget blankets (search online for “Fidget blankets for dementia patients” or “Fidget blankets for dementia patients pattern”)
• Stuffed animals or baby dolls
• Other suggested items of need given to you by the agency you contacted

Assemble a healthy snack box or basket to deliver to the agency staff members when you deliver the patients’ items. Possible items to include:

• Pre-packaged sweet or salty snacks
• Fresh or dried fruit
• Gum
• Flavor packets for bottled water
• A note of encouragement and thanks

Gospel Focus

[Joseph said,] “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20a).

Devotion as You Plan and Prepare:

Choose one of these devotions from the LWML program helps available online: “Compassion in Our Daily Life,” “My Light with a Purpose,” or “Something is Missing” from LWML devotion archives. They are listed alphabetically by title.

Prayer as You Plan and Prepare

Heavenly Father, we don’t always understand why bad things happen. It hurts when someone dear to us gets sick, and a sickness like dementia is really difficult. Don’t let the devil cause us to doubt Your love for us. Give us strength to trust Your promise to never leave or forsake Your people. Give us patience to find one more smile or one more gentle touch when we need to repeat something one more time. Give us wisdom to understand no harm is meant even when someone is acting out. Give us insight to realize we need to take care of ourselves, too. Help us to see with Your eyes, feel with Your love, and act with Your compassion. We pray in the name of the one true God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

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 Service Activities