The People We Serve
Wilmington, our beautiful little gem of a city, has many charms. Pristine beaches, wonderful cultural attractions and a lively downtown scene offers an attractive coastal lifestyle. But Wilmington, like every city, can also be a cruel place to live. For those who barely make it paycheck to paycheck, a sudden illness, a car breakdown, or a missed rent payment can unexpectedly hurl them into a downward spiral that can result in losing the basic necessities of life.
Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard
A Nursery Rhyme Turned Upside Down
Old Mother Hubbard had a bare cupboard. Ours is a bit different.
Two times a month LCOR volunteers donate their afternoons working at Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, an emergency food pantry in the heart of downtown Wilmington. Here, our city’s most needy receive a 3-5 days supply of nutritious food without charge and without regard to race, religion or sex. It requires countless hours of behind the scenes work to stock the shelves at Mother Hubbards and more than 20 people to serve these clients. And monthly, our church collects hundreds of pounds of donated food for the pantry with a nursery rhyme name.
The cupboard donations have hit a record low and the number of clients has increased so please keep the donations coming!
The following list is the items we are either completely out of or very low on: spaghetti sauce, pasta noodles, pkgs of mashed potatoes, rice (1 lb. pkgs) and pkgs of starch items such as noodles and ramen items. Peanut butter, jams and jelly and breakfast syrups.
Please donate paper bags with handles or plastic/fabric bags. We also need shampoo, conditioner, and other hygiene items. If you travel and do not use travel sized soaps etc., pack them up and carry them all with you. We would love to have many of these items for this summer’s use.
LCOR has been very generous in donating nonperishable food items and MHC thanks all of you. Any questions please contact the church office.
We’ve found a few bags of groceries, respect and a kindly word can help our neighbors through tough times and get on their feet again.
ANGEL TREE – please read -time is almost up for this important service!
We have an Angel Tree in the Narthex from the Salvation Army. Please consider helping with this important cause. Local families in need of assistance apply and are screened so you can be assured your gift(s) will go to children who need your help so that they may experience some joy and fun this holiday season. Some of you are familiar with this program and have participated over the years. Gifts are to be turned in by Monday (12/12). This is the last week. We started with 30 “angels” on the tree and still have several. There is a paper with instructions by the tree. Each Christmas Angel represents a child and has attached detailed information for gift ideas, as well as clothing sizes, etc. Let’s help these families and most of all bring a smile to the faces of the children represented on the tree.
Thank you!
Murrayville Elementary
Go Mariners!
Perhaps one of the most profound experiences that a human can experience is an act of kindness; a message from a friend, a simple gift, a gentle word of encouragement. Knowing that is so important, LCOR has chosen a local elementary school as a special friend. This year our school is Murrayville Elementary in Castle Hayne, known throughout the land as The Mariners. We’ve donated backpacks, school supplies, hand-knitted caps for the entire 5th grade, and special “thank you” presents for teachers. Our kindness has been returned in so many unexpected ways. Godspeed Mariners. Fair winds!
Angel Christmas Tree
Angels
A special Christmas Tree adorns our church every year. It is the Angel Christmas Tree placed there and lovingly decorated with angels by LCOR members. Each angel has a child’s name and the name of a Christmas gift they would like to receive. LCOR members choose an angel, find a gift to match the request and return it to LCOR. The gifts go to Open Gate, a domestic violence shelter in Wilmington.
Dedicated Day of Service
God’s Work. Our Hands.
Every year our church joins nearly 10,000 other ELCA churches throughout our nation for a dedicated day of service. A visitor at our Ministry Center would be amazed to see members assembling hygiene kits for homeless people, packing special snacks and writing Thank You notes for community servants. And in the long hours of planning and preparation for this special day, God’s Work, Our Hands volunteers collected hundreds of pounds of food for an emergency food pantry, scores of blankets, bath towels and washcloths for shelters.
We regard this day as a celebration of who we are as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbors.
