I am a transplant patient. So there are many days I feel weak or tired. This could give me a great excuse not to do much, but God has been too good for me to sit still! I absolutely love my church and I dedicate so much of my time to helping wherever there is a need. You might call me a “Jill Of All Trades.” There is so much to be done to spread the love of God! I help organize rummage sales, give tours of the daycare, greet visitors to our church, pray with people at the altar… Read More
I first learned about the after-school Good News Club in a letter. At first glance, I thought it was junk mail and threw it away, but the Lord prompted me to pull it out of the trash and read it. At the time, my church was meeting in a public school on Sunday mornings, and we would pray that the Lord would give us direction on how to impact the children in that school. As I read the letter, I knew this was it. I literally jumped out of my chair and said “Oh God, this is the answer!” Good… Read More
When I was a child, my family was visited by people from a local church. We didn’t go to church at the time. The people who knocked on our door came with an invitation, and a bus that would take us to church. Little did we know that our lives would never be the same after stepping foot in that first service. What I felt in that sanctuary was something I had never felt before: the undeniable presence of God. I wouldn’t be living for God today if it wasn’t for the Transportation Ministry of that church. After many years of seeing… Read More
I have always been passionate about helping people and I knew that we had people in our own community that needed help. Especially during the pandemic when so many people were losing their jobs. The state and local benefits offered to those in need did not cover everyday items such as toilet paper and shampoo. I knew that we could be doing better. I came up with the idea for a pantry. The pantry at our church, Bethany Lutheran in Parma Ohio, is called Sharing G.R.A.C.E. with G.R.A.C.E. standing for Groceries Reaching Across Community Everyday. The pantry offers items you cannot… Read More
When I retired from my job, I knew I wanted to serve the Lord with my gifts and volunteer at my church. I went to a meeting at my church. A leadership position needed to be filled. I was new to the group so I kept my hand and my head down. I didn’t want to volunteer to be a leader, that was for someone else. The next position was for the “Sunshine Committee.” Only one person was needed to send out the get-well cards to church members. I knew that it was the perfect position for me. My hand quickly… Read More
I never expected to be doing the things that I've been doing at my church for the last ten years. When I first joined the praise team, I said I’d help create the PowerPoint slides for the contemporary song presentations and that I would learn to play guitar. I learned how to play guitar through people that were already on the praise team. The team then acquired a guitarist and asked if I could learn bass, so I made the switch to help out. Later, the praise team leader asked me if I would be willing to sing because they… Read More
