BayshoreLutheran

Greetings, Bay Shore!

This Sunday is the last Sunday of January, and it’s been a cold month. It’s also been a hard month for many in our greater community with the rising costs of food and utilities. Now, more than ever, our gifts of canned soup are needed for the local food banks. Donations come in before Christmas, with the season of generosity stirring hearts, but January and February tend to be the leanest months for those in need and for the food bank’s donations.

Souper Bowl of Caring happens every year, and it’s a fun thing to tie it in with the Super Bowl—synods with the competing teams often have competitions of their own for the most gifts to the cause. I had a LOT of fun when the Eagles were in a few years back. My bishop was not shy wearing the jersey on Sundays! This year, I know—the Pack is not in—but we can still support the Souper Bowl and those in need.

So here are a few ways you can help:

1. Our collection is from February 1 through Feb 14 only.
2. Drop off canned soup to the church when the office is open. Please limit your offering to canned soup (or canned vegetables if you see a good sale).
3. Soup that does NOT require milk is strongly preferred by local food banks. In fact, the most helpful soups to donate are “ready to eat” or “ready to serve.”
4. If you desire, you can send a check to the church marked “soup” in the memo, and we will pass on all donated funds received to the Hunger Task Force. They are able to buy soup and other canned goods in bulk, and it does make our dollars stretch more. Please send your donation early so that we can process it all by February 14.

The cans will be delivered to a local food bank based on need. (I have three in mind, and will find out which food bank needs the soup the most after Feb. 14.)

I have no “goal” in mind, but if every household at Bay Shore participated—what an impact that would be!

Thank you for your generosity during this time of challenge for many in the Milwaukee area.

Blessings and peace,

Pastor Sarah

Greetings, Bay Shore!

It has been a very busy week, it’s like a hive with many bees/emails/phone calls/mail coming in and out. With my absence most of last week, I am frankly a week behind and hopefully will catch up.

I have two very important things to share with you today.

First, this Sunday we will be livestreaming our service at 10 a.m. Please join us online at 10 am, or later in the day as your schedule allows. Even though we are not worshipping in person right now, please remember to continue your offerings as you normally would.

Secondly, I would like to share more details about Monday’s MLK Day of Service. 

Part of the hive activity this week has been our preparation for this event. We have shared our event now with the Synod, through the local group—Bay Bridge, and now through the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel! We are excited how this event has really made our church on Hampton more visible.

But, we are hearing from many that they still aren’t sure what is happening! And that’s understandable, since this has never happened before at Bay Shore.

This Monday, from 10:30-1:00, we will open our doors for those fully vaccinated volunteers who have signed up to be onsite to work on several projects that we will complete by 1:00 p.m.  We also will have a pick up system in place for those who have volunteered, but prefer to do the projects at home (we are calling this “remote” on the signups).

What are the projects? We are assembling a couple different kinds of “kits,” and we are making sandwiches for “Just One More” Ministry—which supports and feeds our Hephatha neighbors as well as others.

Both volunteer groups, in person and remote options, will be completing kits and making sandwiches for local charities in our area. In appreciation, and through grants from Thrivent, we are able to provide boxed lunches for our volunteers.

FYI: We have fulfilled our supply list for the number of kits and sandwiches that we have promised to deliver. We hope that next year, with more early volunteer sign ups and gifts, we can plan more. For now, we are grateful for what we will be able to do. Much of this first event is being funded by a generous grant from the Bay Shore Lutheran Church Foundation as a kick start to this new program.

How to volunteer? Please pre-register and sign up by clicking here.  Once you volunteer, you will receive more detailed information. Please pre-register, and let us know your preference in volunteering. Julie Murphy, our Chair, will be in touch to help you prepare for the event.

I am grateful for Julie Murphy’s leadership with this idea that I shared with her almost two years ago. Julie, with the full support of the Social Ministry Committee, has handled the responsibility of this new program at Bay Shore. Thank you, Julie!

I participated in MLK Day of Service events in Pennsylvania—and I missed it after moving here. My first experience was at a local church, not my own, that had been doing it for 10 years. They had hundreds of volunteers, and a year long task force that handled the preparations each year. My second and third experiences were at my own church—which we started in faith after attending the other church’s event. Our first year, it was small but well received. Our second year? We doubled in size and really expanded our projects and more.  I am prayerful that we too will be impactful this first year and expand each year after.  Join me, as you are able, on Monday as we serve others in our community. Let’s make a difference, and also share the good community that we have here at Bay Shore!

Blessings and peace,

Pastor Sarah