How We Serve

We believe we should intentionally reach out to our local and global community to do God’s work in the world. We do this through direct service by members, by giving our resources to those less fortunate, and by our membership in the ELCA.

Click on the circles below to see the different ways to serve at Messiah.

God’s Work. Our Hands.

Benevolence Team

Messiah volunteers receive training through Compassion Coalition’s Frontline and work together to assist neighbors seeking assistance. Partnering with various area social services we work to provide the best possible care that is life-giving and hope-instilling.

FISH Food Pantry

We are part of a network of churches who provide emergency food supplies to people in crisis. One Tuesday each month, our volunteers receive calls for food assistance, pack boxes and bags with supplies for three days, then deliver the food to our hungry neighbors.

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

Fair Trade and Equal Exchange Coffee Project

Messiah partners with Lutheran World Relief to help support a worker-owned co-operative that follows Fair Trade standards on their products. Enjoy a cup of fairly-traded coffee during our fellowship hour and check out our Fair Trade “Shop” for wholesale prices on coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, and chocolates for use in your homes.

Lutheran World Relief Quilt Campaign

Lutheran World Relief Quilt Campaign has a goal of 500,000 quilts to be distributed around the world in 2013. Join Messiah’s quilters (no experience necessary) as we cut, stitch, baste, and tie our quilts to contribute to the goal.

Pumpkin Patch

Each October Messiah purchases thousands of pumpkins from a Navaho Agricultural Products Industry, and we make those pumpkins available for purchase to our neighbors up and down Kingston Pike. Last year the proceeds of our pumpkin patch were directed to Compassion Coalition and the Second Harvest Food for Kids program…and the Navaho Reservation from whom we purchased the pumpkins benefitted as well.

Feeding the Homeless at 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.

Overnight Host

Messiah is pleased to host overnight mission groups traveling to and from their destinations. Groups bring their own sleeping bags and bedrolls and sleep in the shelter of our facilities. For more information, please email or call Kristin in the church office.

WELCA Holiday Market

Messiah’s Chapter of Women of the ELCA hosts a Holiday Market each year to raise funds for different area ministries or social services. Donations in 2012 went to Lost Sheep Ministry and the Interfaith Health Clinic.

ELCA Southeastern Synod

Messiah continues each year to support our Synod, which helps to fund mission congregations within our Synod, ELCA seminaries, campus ministries, disaster response services, youth ministries, and a whole host of other ministries you can see at www.elca-ses.org. And its through our benevolence to our Synod, that our support funds are filtered to the churchwide organization, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

ELCA Churchwide Ministries

ELCA Churchwide Ministries support ELCA World Hunger, ELCA Malaria Campaign, Lutheran World Relief, and many others you can see at www.elca.org