Social Ministry
The Social Ministry Committee’s primary purpose is to provide another way for the members of Christ the Lord Lutheran to be Jesus’ hands and feet here on earth. Among his other directives, Jesus has asked us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. Many of Social Ministry’s projects provide ways for the congregation to do this.
To help “feed the hungry,” Social Ministry provides opportunities for CTL members to be part of:
· The Crop Hunger Walk, which raises funds to benefit Church World Services
· The Thanksgiving and Easter food collections for needy U46 families (Holiday Food Baskets)
· The monthly Vineyard breakfast, feeding homeless and/or low income individuals (3rd Thurs.)
· Soup Kettle, a full meal for those in need of a dinner (Any month with a fifth Friday)
· Donate food or needed supplies to the City of Elgin's MLK drive
· Donate to Food for Greater Elgin, a local food pantry
All of these drives provide food for, or the feeding of, the homeless and those with limited funds.
To help “clothe the naked,” Social Ministry:
· Provides a Mitten Tree for collecting gloves, scarves and hats during cold months. These items are donated to schools and agencies that need them.
· Participates in the Spring Love Elgin Day (Clean used clothing, shoes and nonperishable food are collected to be given to those in need. This is a community event.)
. Provide coats and other articles of clothing, as needed, to a local elementary school
At Christmas, CTL members purchase gifts (called White Gifts) for children from needy families in the U46 school district. Social ministry coordinates this “White Gift” ministry.
One percent of CTL’s Mission Fund (benevolence) is kept in Elgin for local needs. Social Ministry donates from this fund to local charities. In the past, this money has been distributed to The Crisis Center, PADS, the Living Well Cancer Center, the community dinners, and others.
Social Ministry meets the first Monday of each month, except June and July. Our meeting is at 11:00 A.M. in the CTL library. We welcome you to join us as a member of our team or to help with any of our projects. Please let any of us on the committee know if you would like to help or have any other ideas that we might consider for providing for the needs of others.
Fox River Valley Initiative (FRVI)
Christ the Lord Lutheran Church is a member of the Fox River Valley Initiative (FRVI).
FRVI is an affiliate of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), the nation's largest and longest-standing network of local faith and community-based organizations. Chicago Metro IAF is made up of organizations across Cook, Lake, DuPage and Kane Counties.
FRVI is an organization of 18 institutions from across Kane County. We are peoples' institutions of congregations, non-profits, associations, healthcare providers and unions. The places where we gather, find meaning, and live our lives.
>We organize and build relationships across boundaries of class, race, faith, geography and ideology so that we have the ability to act together to address the issues that affect our lives.
>We are focused on results. We take large problems, and break them down into concrete issues… issues that we can focus on with urgency and where we can make a difference.
>We are non-partisan: moderates, conservatives, liberals, and radicals committed to acting on our social values and working for a just society by standing for the whole.
>We are independent: We do not take public money. Our primary source of funding comes from member organization dues.
Each of our member institutions has made a unique decision that as part of their mission, they want to organize their power with others, to be in relationship with one another, and leverage that larger power towards seeking justice and a common good.
Together with our sister organizations we have brought attention to issues related to Affordable Housing, Mental Health Accessibility, Crisis Stabilization Units, Gun Safety, Muslim and Immigration Issues and the Opioid Crisis.
Quilts Of Valor, Needles & Pins
Quilts of Valor is a national organization that was started in 2003 and has branches in every state. The mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comfort and healing Quilts of Valor. The Elgin branch of the Land of Lincoln Quilts of Valor has been meeting at Christ the Lord since the fall of 2014 and meets on the 3rd Tuesday of every month. We have done several group presentations of quilts as well as many individual presentations. There are several sewing machines as well as quilt supplies on hand at church to use or you can bring your own sewing machine and project. The Quilts of Valor group meets from 10 am. to 2 pm. and everyone brings their own lunch.
Needles and Pins began in 2016 as a way to get together to sew, knit, crochet, make cards, etc. and for fellowship. We are happy to share our skills with anyone who would like to learn. The 4th Tuesday of the month Needles and Pins meeting is dedicated to working on a service project for our community. Needles and Pins meet from 9 a.m. to noon (although many times we end up staying later and having lunch together) on the Tuesdays of the month that Quilts of Valor does not meet.
The monthly schedule for Quilts of Valor / Needles and Pins is:
1st Tuesday – Needles and Pins 9 am. - noon
2nd Tuesday – Needles and pins 9 am. - noon
3rd Tuesday – Quilts of Valor 10 am. - 2 pm.
4th Tuesday – Needles and Pins – community service project 9 am. - noon
5th Tuesday (if there is one) – Needles and Pins 9 am. - noon
Monarch Waystation Ministry
This ministry is a way of giving back to the environment and protecting God's creatures. The butterfly is the symbol of the Resurrection and Eternal Life. We are a nationally registered Monarch Waystation, #20058. The beginning of the station starts at the white picket fence on the south side of the property. Other parts of the station are the research garden where we plant annual feeder plants and milkweed to encourage monarch growth and the prairie where there are several varieties of milkweed and perennial prairie plants. All this foliage is very important for the life cycle of the monarch.
We find the eggs, hatch them and rear the caterpillars to the butterfly stage. There are 4 different cycles to the "growing" season and this program runs from late May to the beginning of October.
We are constantly looking for new "foster parents" to help with our rescue program and we are always posting on the church's Table Talk Facebook page. Pastor can give you contacts if you're interested.