Trinity Lutheran Church

Trinity Lakewood Community Outreach is Launched!

Trinity Lakewood Community Outreach is "off the boards." A new service provider is being instituted through Trinity Lutheran Church. TLCO will focus on the hunger relief efforts, neighbor support, organic gardening and backpack summer project that Trinity Church began over the past number of years. New this year will be a theater production with cast and crew of Lakewood teens and tweens intended to recruit those with financial challenges.

With the move of some ministries of the congregation to designations as programs of TLCO, an Advisory Committee is being seated. Lakewood residents Jason Weiner, David Bowen, Katie Stadler, Jason Gatliff, Dee English, and Community Meal volunteer from Cleveland, David Mercado...all who come with enthusiasm for assisting the community...are to be on the Advisory Committee. Others are still being sought to bolster an active and forward thinking Committee that will deliver the above mentioned services to Lakewood's needy. If you are interested in serving, contact www.trinitylakewood.org.

This move has been a result of two years' planning with the Cleveland Foundation's "Project Access'. Trinity Church's Congregational Council has had continued information sharing through their pastor and another congregational member who have attended these classes, a course on capacity building for non profits of faith based organizations.

Trinity has collaborated with the Cleveland Foodbank, Harrison School, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, NORVA (Northern Ohio Returned Volunteers Association of the US Peace Corps), LEAF, the Lakewood Christian Service Center, the 3rd Saturday Hot Meal, the Lakewood Collaborative, the Lakewood Ministerial Associaistion, Lakewood Hospital Foundation, and Fairview Hospital's Parish Nurse Program. These collaborations have been helpful to the congregation in envisioning TLCO and some will be represented on the Advisory Committee.

This year, due to financial cuts of the Lakewood Hospital Foundation, the Parish Nurse program was eliminated. Just as that information was received, Trinity was invited to become a "Health Hub" of Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries. Recently, too, a grant from the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was received to reinstate some nursing presence with and for community (free) meal guests. These two organizations' assistance will include a variety of health screenings, a support group for women attendees of the community meals, and lead poisoning prevention information offered to the public. These programs will be under the auspices of Trinity Lakewood Community Outreach.

Paula Maeder Connor, Trinity's pastor of the past twenty years, will also serve as executive director of Trinity Lakewood Community Outreach. Watch for more

Posted by: Pastor Paula
2010-06-01