Helping the Homeless & Hungry
The Missions/Service committee of LCN has chosen to focus on serving the homeless and hungry, with volunteer opportunities and donation drives to support programs such as the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter, Centre Street Food Pantry, and other organizations that provide services to those in need in the Greater Boston area.
LCN has joined with two other local ELCA congregations in the support of a Haitian family seeking asylum in the United States. The family has been settled in a local apartment and in the community (schools, work, etc.). In our May 2023 Congregational Meeting, we agreed to raise an additional $10,000 to help support the family, as there is still a need. If you would like to make a contribution, please direct cash or a check made out to the Lutheran Church of the Newtons, making sure to note “asylum family” in the memo line or envelope.
Opportunities for Giving in Advent
NEW Socks & Underwear Collection – Massachusetts Interfaith New Neighbor Coalition is collecting NEW socks and underwear for families living in shelters (all sizes, including children’s). Thank you to everyone who contributed; the items will be delivered this week to Circle of Hope, which will distribute them.
Operation ELF – LCN once again supported Operation ELF this holiday season. Each year various agencies and sponsoring shelters reach out to ELF requesting help for the children in their care who would not otherwise receive any gifts during the holidays. Thank you to the individual donors and the “super shoppers” who provided items to make the holiday better for these children.
God's Work. Our Hands.
Rally Day Food Drive - September 8, 2024
In conjunction with the Learning Ministry committee and to recognize the 50th anniversary of the ELCA World Hunger program, our Rally Day program this year included a Food Drive for the Kids Club at the Centre Street Food Pantry. Thank you to all those who donated! We collected 33 boxes of Mac ‘n Cheese, 20 boxes of granola/breakfast bars, 4 cans of tuna fish, and 8 toddler juice pouches.
Past Support:
GBIO Housing Action: LCN members attended this event on March 3rd to make a stand for housing justice.
Tamale Benefit: Thanks to everyone who purchased tamales or made donations to help support the Eastern Service Workers Association.
Operation Elf: We provided 62 gift bags and additional monetary donations for gift cards for children at risk across New England.
Cradles to Crayons: In addition to several bags of clothing donations, a hearty band of LCN members quality-checked and cleaned 100 pairs of shoes in 2 hours!
Mission Support for Asylum-seeking refugee family: Thank you to the Confirmation class for hosting the fund-raising Coffee Hour, which raised $300!
2022 Advent Food Drive – We are pleased to report that we collected 50 boxes of Mac & Cheese and 27 boxes of Granola/Breakfast Bars! Thank you to all who contributed!
2023 Souper Bowl of Caring: this year we collected $125 and two large bags of groceries, which were donated to the Newton Food Pantry. Thank you to all who contributed!
Who We Support
Harvard Square Homeless Shelter
The Harvard Square Homeless Shelter, located in the basement of University Lutheran Church, is a student-run shelter which runs from November 1 to April 15. We support the shelter through supply drives and monetary donations throughout the year. See below for some photos of prior donations from LCN.
Souper Bowl of Caring
For over thirty years, the Souper Bowl of Caring has transformed the “Big Game” into a nation-wide movement inspiring people to give locally and make a collective impact on hunger. LCN has supported and participated in this movement on Souper Bowl Sunday by collecting food and/or monetary donations during our service on that Sunday. These donations have been given to the Centre Street Food Pantry or the Newton Food Pantry.
Mission Support
LCN provides outreach ministry support to Resurrection Lutheran Church in Roxbury, MA and Ascension Lutheran Church in Rindge, NH.
Centre Street Food Pantry
LCN holds food drives throughout the year for the Centre Street Food Pantry. Donations can be made to the Pantry’s Kids Club; requested items can be found on the food pantry’s website. Financial donations are also extremely welcome, as the need for food continues to grow.
In addition, LCN has served as a secondary storage space for the food pantry when needed. This is a story of LCN in action, listening for the needs of our surrounding community, and then mobilizing to open our doors in response.
Haffenreffer Fund
As part of the Haffenreffer legacy at LCN, we have the opportunity to donate two $1,000.00 grants to local not-for-profit organizations annually. The Haffenreffer Fund statement of purpose is to award grants to an organization that supports at least two of the following criteria:
Prior grant recipients include the Rian Immigrant Center, Justice Health Initiative Inc., Equal Justice Initiative, Newton at Home, Massachusetts Council of Churches, St. Paul International Lutheran Church (Tokyo, Japan), ELCA Mount of Olives Housing Project, Lutheran World Federation – Jerusalem, St. Christopher’s Mission (Episcopal Church in Navajoland, Utah), Central Asia Institute, Edwon (Empower Dalit Women of Nepal), Horizons for Homeless Children (Putnam Center in Jamaica Plain) and others.
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:38-39
