Congregations
to Recognize LSS' Work During October
For 140 years, Lutheran Social
Service of Minnesota has carried out the mission of service to the
neighbor in the name of Christ on behalf of Lutherans in Minnesota. As the
"service arm" of the church, LSS has both benefited from and been a
benefit to Lutheran congregations throughout the state in a multitude of
cooperative ministries. Those ministries range from adoptions and
counseling to refugee resettlement, housing, youth services and
residential programs for persons with disabilities, just to name a few.
At this time of commemoration
and celebration, congregations around the state are being invited to join
with LSS in a celebration of that tradition of service and the long
relationship that has existed between congregations and LSS. A special "LSS
Sunday" is being planned. Materials are being prepared. A "thank-offering"
will be encouraged.
As part of the celebration,
congregation members who have personal LSS stories they would like to
share will be invited to come forward as part of the testimony to the
impact that Lutheran service ministries have had in communities around the
state. Families have been formed through adoptions; relationships have
been saved through counseling; communities have been strengthened through
Lutherans giving their time and talents as LSS volunteers in a host of
ways.
We are thankful to have had
the opportunity to serve together for 140 years. This celebration will be
a wonderful way to express that gratitude. It also gives a burst of
momentum to begin the next decade of cooperative ministry. Thanks be to
God!
