St. Michael's also supports ministries worldwide — some through financial donations from members, and some through volunteer work to produce items that are sent all over the world to provide for those in need. If you wish to support any of these ministries with a financial donation, you can look for designated gift envelopes in the pew card holders, on the tables in the narthex and outside the Fellowship Hall, or speak to our Pastor.
More than 800 million people — that's 11 percent of people in our world today — are hungry. As members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we are called to respond. We are a church that rolls up our sleeves and gets to work. ELCA World Hunger reaches out to communities in need throughout the world with health clinics, microloans, water wells, animal husbandry, community meals, advocacy and more. Your gifts to ELCA World Hunger make it possible for the ELCA to respond, supporting sustainable solutions that get at the root causes of hunger and poverty.
Lutheran Disaster Response brings God's hope, healing and renewal to people whose lives have been disrupted by disasters in the United States and around the world, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, flooding and more. When the dust settles and the headlines change, Lutheran Disaster Relief stays to provide ongoing assistance to those in need, lending a helping hand to those physically, mentally and emotionally affected by the disasters. Your gifts ensure that disaster survivors in the United States and around the world are receiving the assistance they need.
In 1945, World War II left an estimated one-fifth of the world's Lutherans homeless. Here in the United States, Lutheran churches in at least 20 states mobilized to help in Europe through a new agency called Lutheran World Relief. Initially prompted by sending aid to their German and Scandinavian kin, American Lutherans soon realized that aid could be shared fairly only on the basis of need. Hungry refugees all over Europe cried out for help. Service to all suffering people became a vital part of Christian witness. Lutheran World Relief formed local partnerships in areas of need, and the local partners were made responsible for using the shipments wisely.
Today, with 100 local partners, Lutheran World Relief works to improve harvests, health and education in some 35 countries each year. Lutheran World Relief partners train local women and men to produce local foods, dig low-cost wells and protect and restore their local environments. Some partners are small village groups on the edge of the Sahara. Others are nationwide programs that may reach across the Andes. In the 70 years since its formation, Lutheran World Relief has learned that the future in health, agriculture and education often lies with the hearts and hands of women, and that disaster can sometimes be prevented or withstood by effective development programs. Finally, when disasters do occur, Lutheran World Relief partners may be on the spot well before the world notices and still needed long after the crisis no longer commands front-page headlines.
St. Michael's supports Lutheran World Relief with donations of quilts made by the Quilting Group, and donations of school, baby and personal hygiene kits assembled by the Women of St. Michael's Group. In addition, each Spring, St. Michael's organizes and hold a tag sale consisting of donated items from members and gifts 100 percent of the proceeds to Lutheran World Relief.