We need your help! So many caring people are looking for ways to give to those less fortunate at Christmas. We Care provides gifts for our clients’ children every year, with the gifts received from sponsors likely to be the only Christmas these little ones will get!
The last few years we have averaged providing Christmas for over 500 children each year. This year, we are serving even more people and anticipate more children. Regardless of the final numbers and how extensive the need, as we have always done, we will not turn any child away.
Please help us make sure every child has a blessed Christmas by participating yourself and sharing this opportunity with others. Thank you!
What does a sponsor do?
1. Buys gifts for assigned individual children, using info that will be provided to purchase clothing and a few items off the child’s wish list.
2. Purchases $25 gift cards from Walmart or Target, including an individual receipt for each card gift cards work great for teens!
3. Provides both gifts and gift cards for a child and/or family.
How do I get involved?
1. Fill out form on-line https://forms.gle/XQTjXmMvsfFwyNYHA
2. Email chapinwecarechristmas@gmail.com
3. Mail a sponsorship form to We Care, PO Box 491, Chapin, 29036
SPONSOR EARLY! We need to hear from you by November 1!
What else can I give?
1. Hats, gloves, scarves and mittens
2. New blankets, books and toys
3. Additional small gifts for infant through teens
4. Christmas stockings and fillers, candy
5. Wrapping paper and bows
Help our local children and their families experience the wonder of Christmas by being Jesus’ hands and feet to meet them in their need in tangible ways. If you have any additional questions or ideas for how you or your organization can help, please email us at chapinwecarechristmas@gmail.com
Outreach Archive
We Care Christmas 2024
Posted October 5, 2024 By adminMen’s Bible Study
Posted September 30, 2024 By adminOur Men’s Bible study will continue with its new time and day. All St. Jacob’s men are invited to participate in Bible study on Monday, October 7th at 6:30 PM in the church office. Please bring your Bible. If you do not have one to bring, then one will be provided for you.
Blessing of the Animals
Posted September 30, 2024 By adminGod blesses us with love from so many sources. One source of unquestioned love comes from the pets with whom we share our lives. Our pets are a part of our family and a gift from our Father in heaven. They provide love and companionship asking little in return. Join your church family on October 5th at 10:00AM for a special time together on the Church Office front lawn (weather permitting) as Pastor David leads a special service of blessing and thanksgiving. Please bring pets, on leash or in carrier, to receive a special blessing from Pastor David. If your pet does not socialize well, you may receive a written prayer that you may use to bless your pet at home.
Pastoral Devotion for October – A Place at the Table
Posted September 28, 2024 By adminRead: 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:10, Luke 16:19-31
As baptismal waters washed over his head, the stain of sin was erased forever, and he was made a new creation. At long last he became a child of God, refreshed and brought to new life. So it was for a homeless man walking the streets of Charleston who happened to become friends with this particular pastor. Truly, Greg became the best friend I ever had.
It seemed that at every turn, fortune never seemed to smile upon Greg. He was homeless, friendless, and trusted no one. Yet, tired of being alone, he entered the church. There he found compassion. In time, the compassion he discovered taught him to trust; his trust led him to love. Life remained difficult, but his newly gifted faith would begin to understand this earthly affliction would one day pass, and the kingdom would be his forever. That day came for Greg soon after I left Charleston to serve a congregation in North Carolina.
As Lazarus longed for food from the rich man’s table, not a crumb would fall within his reach. Making a distinction between himself and the needy, the rich man failed in God’s call to care for the poor, thus he lived contrary to God’s mandate to love his neighbor. Upon his death, the rich man was denied the mercy of God. In short, he received his reward for his selfishness and refusal to care for those in need. Many in this world continue to make such distinctions, only helping when they feel the recipient “deserves” to be helped. They make distinctions between people according to appearances. Thus, the lost and hungry often go ignored. But just as God smiled upon Lazarus, all who call upon the Lord will find compassion and take their place at the table of heaven.
Prayer: Father God, give us hearts for love alone, that we might love and serve our neighbor without distinction. Amen.
Flood Bucket Challenge
Posted September 24, 2024 By adminNALC Disaster Response warehouses are in need of restocking. Our St. Jacob’s disaster response shed is virtually empty as Gerald Lindler and Pastor David loaded a truck to respond to hurricane relief efforts in Beaufort and Charleston. In order to be prepared for future needs, the Carolinas Mission Region is hosting a flood bucket build at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Little Mountain on Saturday, October 12th. St. Jacob’s is asked to supply fifty cans of scouring powder (Ajax, Comet, etc.) and fifty 1 quart bottles of Pine-Sol cleaning liquid. We are also asked to supply thirty buckets and lids (5 gallons each). Volunteers for all around the NALC Carolinas will gather to assemble the flood buckets and arrangements will be made to transport them to the warehouse in Kings Mountain, NC, or to our shed here in Chapin. We need volunteers to help in this project. Please plan on attending and helping to build flood buckets. This is always a fun filled event with plenty of good fellowship among our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Congo Mission 2024
Posted September 10, 2024 By adminReport Even though I was not able to travel to Congo with Pastor Kalonji, my heart overflows with joy that our shared mission work continues to bear fruit for the kingdom of God. With the help of so many congregations across the NALC, and especially St. Jacob’s, Pastor Kalonji was able to engage in a longer than usual mission trip to Kinshasa, Mbuji-Mayi, and the village of Merode.
Thank you to everyone here at St. Jacob’s who continue to contribute to the Congo Mission through your offerings and gifts. With help from your donations, forty-seven families welcomed home mothers and their newborn babies, fifty-six families and individuals who had no other access to the Scriptures received Bibles written in their local language, and over six hundred orphaned children enjoyed a healthy hot meal when they would not have otherwise had such a feast.
Of course, one of the projects that brings me much joy is the construction of the first Lutheran Church building in the province of Kasai-Oriental. Currently, all Lutheran Church worship and activity takes place outside, exposed to the weather. With grants from NALC Congregations, we have been able to purchase an acre of land and begin construction. The foundation is laid for the church. Soon, there will be a modest building rising up from the ground to serve as a school for children, education for women, and a house of worship for the surrounding community. We hope to provide for a well to be drilled since all water must be brought in from elsewhere. We trust that God will provide.
As this year’s trip is concluded, we leave behind funds for congregations that they may continue to feed orphans who remain in their care, eyeglasses for people who have such need, and the seeds of faith planted through the love of Christian brothers and sisters in Christ across the ocean. Thank you again for supporting this wonderful and exciting mission. I am so thankful we can all be a part of God’s work together for the sake of our fellow Christians in Congo.
Lutheran Women
Posted September 4, 2024 By adminThe Lutheran Women will have a spaghetti meal fundraiser on Sunday, September 22nd following worship. The meal will be salad, spaghetti, bread and dessert and may be eaten in or taken to go. Adult plates will be $10 and child plates will be $5. The funds raised will be used to assist those in our church and community in need of financial assistance for medical issues. There will be a sign-up sheet in the Worship folder on September 8th and September 15th, or you can call Sandra. Please let us know if you plan to join us no later than September 15th.
Up and Going
Posted July 23, 2024 By adminOn May 9th, seventeen members gathered in the fellowship hall for the regular Up and Going Meeting. It was a stormy, rainy morning, but the sunshine filled the fellowship hall as members gathered and filled the room with laughter and conversations.
Helen and Jean welcomed everyone. Joan gave the devotions with the reading of Psalm 1, the sharing from her Angel Book and prayer. Helen gave the blessing for our meal. The meal of many delicious salads and complimentary dishes and wonderful desserts were enjoyed by all. Comment was made, “that everyone should bring the same dish next month, everything was so good.”
Next came BINGO, always a fun time with lots of laughter and comments. Everyone won several times and chose prizes of their choice. Some prizes were then given to We Care and Mercy Boy Project and some prizes went home with us. We played and played until all prizes were gone. What a good time we had!!
June 13th, 2024, a beautiful summer day, the Up and Going gathered in the Fellowship Hall at 11 AM for the monthly meeting. Eighteen members and guests attended. Devotions were given by Team Leader, Helen. Devotions were from “Mornings with Jesus” booklet. Bible reading was from John 5:19 reminding us that “sons learn from their fathers” and we learn from our fathers and so we teach our sons. We shared special memories of our fathers. Business was conducted.
Mr. Travis Goodman, our Thrivent Representative, spoke to us about Thrivent, how the company operates and the many opportunities available to its clients. Travis is available to each of us should we desire additional information.
We all enjoyed a delicious covered dish meal and lots of great fellowship. The food was so good. We always have a wide variety of delicious dishes. Our next meeting will be held on July 11th at 11 AM in the fellowship hall. Bob will have the program. Lunch will be a covered dish meal. Hope to see you then.
Helen
Team Leader
Up and Going
Mercy Bags Ministry
Posted July 14, 2024 By adminYour continued support of the Mercy Bags Ministry is making a difference in our local community. In May, 45 meals were provided to rural communities. Cleaning supplies were also provided. Please continue to support this ministry through a designated monetary donation, shopping for meal items or helping to pack food for the Mercy Bags after worship on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month. A list of meal items can be found in the Narthex.
From Your Pastor’s Heart
Posted July 7, 2024 By adminGo therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
The time has finally come when Pastor Kalonji and I must begin packing bags, confirming reservations and making final preparations for our flight to Kinshasa. As usual, there have been several tense moments worrying about travel visas and working with embassies. At this writing, all the paperwork is finally in order. I have received the necessary visa to enter the country, flights have been arranged and I am ready for my visit with our good Christian friends in Congo.
Looking back on all the preparations that have to take place each time we travel to Congo, I am truly amazed at the goodness of God as he blesses Pastor Kalonji and I with the privilege to do his work in such a place. Before meeting Pastor Kalonji in 2014 and hearing his presentation to our Mission District Convocation, I would have never dreamed of traveling to such a place.
I was just a young boy, when in school I first heard of the Congo. We learned about jungles, rain forests and also the regions of the hills and plains. But the thing I was most fascinated with was the Congo River. Since that time as a child, I was intrigued with the thought of seeing the Congo River, but I never dreamed it would actually happen. Many years later, all of that changed; I saw the river I had learned about as a child. I ministered to people whose life and livelihood are closely intertwined with the river. They depend upon it for food and transport of basic supplies.
Now, God has blessed me with another opportunity to see this great river and to reconnect with friends I’ve made throughout my several missionary journeys. I remember the first time I traveled to Congo I was a bit apprehensive. The country is not one that is on the well-traveled path of tourists and commerce. I didn’t speak the language of its people back then, and I still don’t today. Back then I wondered how easily we would be able to find food to eat and water to drink. All these years later, I still struggle with this. Back then, for me, Congo was simply a great unknown in a place called the “Dark Continent.” But these days it’s not so unknown to me. I have friends there, people who are eager for my visits. I have fellow pastors whom I work alongside proclaiming the Gospel and ministering to men, women, and of course the many children we will encounter. From the time we are met at the airport to the first prayer that is said, it becomes quite evident that, even in such a far off place, I am not alone. God is with me…and so are all of you.
In preparing for this trip, many of you have taken part in the ministry we are called to share. You have adopted Bibles to share with people who have none. You have made donations to help us free mothers and their babies from detention in hospitals and clinics. And you have provided funds to feed malnourished children who wake up each morning wondering if they might have a meal that day.
A central part of our ministry in Congo is showing compassion toward caring for children. In this same compassion, our children here at home have embraced those who are far away. Through noisy offerings and their children’s offerings on Sundays, they have raised money to purchase food for kids they will likely never meet. Last year, they made cross necklaces to remind the children of Congo that they indeed have a Savior in Jesus Christ, and they have children in the United States who pray for them. I am pleased with the relationship that has sprung up between our kids and those so far away. One day, in the kingdom of God, there will be a meeting of these children and all of heaven will sing in thanksgiving.
Thank you to everyone who has made contributions to this year’s mission trip. Thanks also to those in neighboring congregations who have offered funding and prayers. But most of all, thanks be to God for his grace that comes through Christ Jesus, and for the opportunity to share the Good News with the people in Congo. Even as I go, I do not go alone. God is with me, and so are you.
Grace and peace,
Pastor David Nuottila
