GREENVILLE — St. John Lutheran Church, in Greenville, believes in the following mission statement:
“Growing in grace, living by faith and serving with love.”
Some of the church members were hard at work living that statement last week, as they loaded up supplies on a truck heading for the First Lutheran Church, in Springfield. The supplies will eventually make their way to the North American Lutheran Church (NALC), which has a nationwide disaster relief fund, according to church member and Disaster Relief Leader Bonnie Tryon. The NALC will then distribute wherever help is needed.
Hurricane “Harvey” devastated Houston, “Irma” swept in behind focusing its record-breaking winds in parts of the northeastern Caribbean and the Florida Keys, and Maria left behind a damaged Caribbean. The supplies will help victims of those hurricanes.
The supplies include: flood buckets, health kits and diapers. Each flood bucket was filled with: one bucket, two large trash bags, one gallon of bleach, a scouring cleanser, a liquid floor cleaner, a scrub brush, rubber gloves and a dust mask. The health kits include: one bath towel, a wash cloth, two bars of soap, one toothbrush, one pack of dental floss, one tube of toothpaste, one comb and deodorant. The church members began collecting these items in August.
In addition, a $10,000 donation was made towards the disaster relief fund, by way of a matched collection. According to church member Carol Hoop, $5,000 was collected from about 50 members of the St. John congregation, that was matched by Thrivent Financial Insurance Company.
“We are Christians and we help other Christians and non-Christians too,” Hoop said. “People just need to come to know the Lord, and know that everybody cares.”
For more information about St. John Lutheran Church, visit http://www.stjohngreenvilleohio.org
