Messiah Lutheran Church, Knoxville TN

The following is a list of trustworthy ministries supported by Messiah. These agencies were already on the ground in Haiti and are, even now, at work assisting with earthquake relief in Haiti.

ELCA World Hunger Appeal & Disaster Response

Lutheran World Relief

The Haitian Timoun Foundation 

This year, as part of Vision Messiah 2010, our congregation is seeking to focus its attention on the issue of Hunger, its causes, as well as the various initiatives and ministries that seek to give aid to over one billion people who suffer from hunger.  

During the month of September, Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee, and its parent organization Feeding America, are asking faith communities to take action to fight domestic hunger. Throughout Hunger Action Month, Feeding America’s nationwide network of more than 200 food banks is calling upon communities to take action through the “30 Ways in 30 Days” campaign.

Here at Messiah, we have a long history of taking action in local and global hunger ministry. Our FISH pantry, KARM meals, and support of the ELCA World Hunger Appeal are just three examples of Messiah’s action over the years to serve the poor and feed the hungry.

This month we’re asking you to find the way that’s right for you to make a difference. Whether it’s by advocating and raising awareness, making donations, or giving of your time and energy, consider how you might use this month as a time to further your involvement in hunger action. To assist you, we encourage you to take a look at page 3 to learn more about Messiah’s current hunger ministries. In addition, we invite you to bring a canned food to worship on Rally Day—Sept. 12—to give during the offering. All canned foods collected will go to Messiah’s FISH pantry. On Sept. 19 we’ll include a special offering for the ELCA World Hunger Appeal in our worship. Go to http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Responding-to-the-World/ELCA-World-Hunger.aspx to see ways in which your offering makes a difference in our church’s action against hunger.  You might also want to visit http://hungeractionmonth.org to take Second Harvest’s action pledge and to learn more about other ways you can observe Hunger Action Month.

The need in our community, country and throughout the world is tremendous, but so is the impact that we can make together. Let’s join together this month and take action.

WELCA plans to host a craft fair again this year on Saturday, November 6, 2010. In addition to a WELCA table and a bake sale table, outside crafters will be invited to participate. We plan to have craft items from Lutheran World Relief again. More information will be coming.

If you are a crafter and would like to secure a booth for the event, you may register by completing the attached form. For more information, contact Lynn White at 865-693-6275 or email Lynn.

KARM (Knox Area Rescue Ministries)

Once every seven weeks, volunteers from Messiah plan, acquire, prepare and serve lunch for 200 to 225 residents of KARM and area homeless at Knox Area Rescue Ministries.

Serving dates in 2010 are:

     February 6            August 21
     March 27              October 9
     May 15                 November 27
     July 3                   January 15, 2011
         

Six to eight cooks/servers are needed for each date. Cooks should arrive at KARM to unload groceries and start cooking no later than 10:30. The first person there signs in at the front desk. Servers need to be there by 11:00 am. KARM residents are served first at 11:45. The homeless are fed after the residents have cleared the facility. The staff wants us out no later than 1:00 PM. We do not clean up after serving.

If you would like to help in this ministry, a sign up chart is posted in the Narthex about two Sundays prior to the serving date. You may sign up to contribute food, help serve, or both.

Donations of food must be delivered to the church kitchen by the Wednesday prior to serving. A container marked KARM is placed in the refrigerator to collect meat donations. An inventory of the food contributions is taken on Wednesday evening in order to determine additional needs.

If you are interested in serving in this ministry, please call Ann Rita Ditmore or the church office for more information.

Messiah holds a monthly devotional birthday celebration at Lakeshore Mental Health Institute every third Tuesday at 2:30 PM. Consumers (residents) celebrating birthdays during that month are honored by everybody singing Happy Birthday and providing them a present of their choice, either a T-shirt or cap. A brief devotion is conducted by the pastor followed with birthday cake and soda served by the residents.

Donations of women's and men's T-shirts (L & XL) are always needed. There is also a need for three birthday cakes and one diabetic cake each month.

All are invited to join the Lakeshore ministry. If interested in serving in this ministry, please contact the church office for more information.

The name FISH is derived from a Biblical-day symbol of the fish which was sometimes used as a sign of distress, a plea for help from one's neighbor:

FISH of Knox County is an all-volunteer organization, with no paid staff, founded in 1972. FISH attempts to help those in emergency and distress situations in an unselfish, non-judgmental and giving way. FISH is non-denominational and helps anyone of any race or creed.

Working daily through twenty-nine community churches and the FISH Hospitality Pantries, the FISH volunteers responded to some 82,000 calls for help during the last year. Volunteers who work in the collaborative organization are dedicated to showing God's love to our community by helping those who are in need.

Messiah serves in this ministry one day each month. Volunteers from Messiah family members and friends serve as phone answerers and screeners, bag packers, and delivery drivers. If you are interested in serving in this ministry, please call our FISH Pantry coordinator Bill Boys or the church office.

For food assistance, call the FISH Help Line at 523-7900.

Twenty-Third Annual WELCA Convention

September 10-12, 2010

The twenty-third annual convention of the Southeastern Synod Women of the ELCA will be held Sept. 10, 11, and 12, 2010, at the Hilton Marietta Convention Center in Marietta, Georgia. The theme of the convention is “Wind of the Spirit” from John 3:8. Representing Messiah at the convention will be Denny Blalock, delegate, and representatives Lynn White, Bonnie Pederson, Gloria Nelson, and Anne Tinker. If you are interested in attending, please talk with Lynn White.

WELCA Morning Bible Study

The WELCA Morning Bible Study will be held at 10:00 am Tuesday, Sept. 7. We will follow the study from the magazine Lutheran Woman Today entitled “The People of God: Unity in the Face of Diversity.” The main text for this study is Romans 15:1-4. Doris Featherston will lead the study. Please join us.

WELCA Afternoon Bible Study

The WELCA Afternoon Bible Study will be held Thursday, Sept. 2. We are studying the book Giving to God by Mark Allan Powell. We will start at 12:30 pm with a brown bag lunch and begin the study at 1:00 pm. Lynn White will lead the study. Please join us.

Service Project & October General Meeting - Monday, Oct. 11

We have become aware that in keeping with Knoxville’s Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, many of the new residents at Guy B. Love Towers in north Knoxville are folks who are coming in from living off the streets and as such are in need of household items. Think of this as an opportunity to clear out your cabinets and donate household items that you don’t use anymore such as dishes, pots & pans, drinking glasses, linens, etc. We ask that you bring your donations to our general meeting on Monday, Oct. 11. These items will be greatly appreciated by the residents at Guy B. Love Towers.

Craft Fair - November 6, 2010

A Craft Fair will be held here at Messiah on Nov. 6 from 9:00 am-3:00 pm. The fair will include a bake sale, craft items from Lutheran World Relief, a WELCA table, and outside crafters who will set up tables. So far, the outside crafters include such items as wood-burned gourds, painted and holiday gourds, holiday items, photography, bookmarks, note cards, paintings, silk flower arrangements, wreaths, knitted scarves and washcloths, jewelry and soy candles. Think of this as a great opportunity to do some holiday shopping. If you have any questions, please contact Lynn White.

Love Offering

Love offering 2010/Southeastern Synod WELCA is designated for the Southeastern Synod Disaster Relief Fund.  Our own synod is in need of help due to recent flooding in Nashville, tornados in Mississippi and the oil spill on the Gulf Coast.  During the month of September, we will be “Counting our Blessings” by using a special calendar and bag to collect our coins. They are available in the narthex and we invite you to help with this worthy cause.

WELCA: Cooking for the homebound

Even though we can’t seem to break the heat outside, we are going to turn up the heat inside. On Sunday, Sept. 26, WELCA’s Witness and Service Committee will do some old-fashioned soup-cooking to share with Messiah’s homebound, sick and elderly. All women of the church are invited to join us beginning at 12:30 pm.

If you have a favorite soup recipe you would like to whip up, you can bring it along, or simply drop it off in the kitchen by noon on Sept. 26. We’ll be dividing the soup into serving size containers. If you are not a soup maker but love to bake, then we’d love for you to bake up some mini-loaves of your favorite bread and bring those to the kitchen on Sept. 26 by noon.  We will clean up all your dishes and mark them ready for pick-up the following Sunday.

If cooking isn’t your fancy, that’s okay. Please just take a moment and pray for Messiah’s homebound sick and elderly. To borrow from the popular book series, your prayers are like “chicken soup for the soul.”

Micah 6:8 calls us, as Christians, to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly. The LWR Coffee Project helps Lutherans answer that call by righting the injustices faced by small-scale farmers around the world.

The LWR Coffee Project closes the gap between our parish and the kind of communities in which LWR works. By using fair trade coffee and other products in our parish and homes, we guarantee that farmers will earn the income they need to feed their families, educate their children, seek medical care and improve their communities.

What difference can a simple cup of coffee make? José Luis Castillo Vasquez, a member of a cooperative in El Salvador, put it simply: "I want to thank all of the congregations that purchase our coffee. It is thanks to you that we have a seed of hope in our lives."

Fair trade coffee ($6 & $7), tea ($3), hot chocolate ($5), and cranberries ($4) are available for purchase in our church fellowship hall. We use the "honor system"-a basket is provided where you can leave your payment. Look for the display, as pictured above, in the church fellowship hall.