Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Amos 5:24
Saints win Souper Bowl!
No, this isn’t a typo. The saints of St. Paul Lutheran Church (simultaneously saints and sinners, as Martin Luther taught us) raised over $1,000 at our Souper Bowl Sunday event on February 7. Our confirmation class, in concert with thousands of Christian youth groups across the country, led us in making a generous offering as we shared a simple lunch of soup and bread. Every penny will go to disaster relief in Haiti through the ELCA World Hunger Appeal.
Feed the hungry
The Sharing Place, St. Paul’s ministry to the needy in our neighborhood, sees nearly monthly increases in the number of people who come to us for bags of nutritious food. On the last two Saturdays of every month, we provide bags of groceries or, for the homeless, of ready-to-eat food, to nearly 700 households per month. You can help by donating to the Sharing Place or by volunteering to help distribute food. Contact the Sharing Place director to learn more.
- Volunteers are needed to unload food from the Community Food Bank truck on Wednesday, February 17, and Thursday, February 25, at approximately 8:30 am each day.
- Food distribution dates are February 20 and 27. Volunteers are needed as early as 6:30 am and as late as 2 pm, depending on need.
Contact the Sharing Place director, Santos Murillo, if you would like to volunteer.
Photos from a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat
Thanks to United Way of Hudson County and particularly its executive director, Daniel Altilio, the Sharing Place at St. Paul Lutheran Church was able to provide a fresh, hot Thanksgiving feast to over 250 of our needy neighbors on Thanksgiving Day. United Way donated all the food and provided the bulk of the volunteers. The Culinary Institute donated refrigerator space so that volunteers could cook on Wednesday rather than having to arrive at 2 am on Thanksgiving Day! Santos Murillo, Sharing Place director, recruited these good folks and made sure we were able to provide a tasty meal for our guests. Many church members dropped by to make sure our guests felt welcome. We’ll do this again next year!
Hungry neighbors give to world hunger
Since last year, patrons of the Sharing Place, St. Paul’s hunger ministry, have been donating from the little they have to help those even less fortunate. A “world hunger” can sits near the intake area, where clients can make a donation, though they are never asked to do so. We have received a letter from ELCA World Hunger thanking the Sharing Place for a donation of $329.50, three months’ worth of collections. The spirit of giving really does pervade the Sharing Place and all its people, from volunteers to clients.
God has a passion for justice. The people of St. Paul Lutheran Church follow the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19: 18, Matthew 22:39) by caring for the people in our neighborhood and by advocating for justice for all people on earth.
- The Sharing Place is the largest food pantry in Hudson County.
- We make facilities available to the Lutheran Home for Children and Alcoholics / Narcotics Anonymous groups.
- We are expanding our community service through the St. Paul Center for Caring.
- We join other NJ Lutheran churches in prayer vigils at the Elizabeth immigrant detention center.
- We pray at every worship service for peace and justice.