You're Invited!

June 16, 10:00 a.m.—ZOOM

GATHER Bible Study will meet Monday, June 16th, at 10:00 a.m. by Zoom. Our study this month is the first of three sessions titled Where two or more are gathered: Flourishing in relationships and this ses-sion focuses on: “Relationships that Form Us.” The Study Guide appears on pages 12-17 in the June/July/August issue of GATHER. If you don’t receive the magazine please contact Lisa and she’ll send you a guide.

All women from Gethsemane & Hope are invited! The Zoom link is below and also will be on the church calendar online at glclex.org.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84888818856?pwd=YXJdCYXTZ6fgFFYbW9qeVF2aBbxFAh.1

With school ending, we anticipate an increase in the use of the Blessing Box this summer as families struggle to feed their children who normally receive free breakfast and lunch at school.

For the month of June, please consider adding foods for lunch and breakfast to your Blessing Box donations. Suggestion foods include cereal, pancakes, syrup, shelf-stable milk, shelf-stable lunch kits for kids, canned pasta (e.g., beef-a-roni), canned fruit, and juice boxes. In addition, donations of sunscreen will help to keep kids from getting sun-burned and would be greatly appreciated

Across the country, Lutheran Disaster Response supports communities recovering from devastating tornadoes. They include:

• Western Kentucky
• Selma and Prattville, Ala.
• Amory and Wren, Miss.
• Rocky Mount and Battleboro, N.C.
• Pulaski County, Ark.
• Central Tennessee

Our response:

In  the aftermath of tornadoes, Lutheran Disaster Response works with ELCA  synods, social ministry organizations and community-based groups to  support local responses. Together we accompany impacted communities  through disaster case management, construction management, providing  relief supplies and addressing other unmet needs.

What you can do:

Pray:
Please  pray for the people impacted by these destructive tornadoes. May God's  healing presence give them peace and hope in their time of need.

Give:
Gifts to "U.S. tornadoes" will be used entirely (100%) to assist those affected by tornadoes.

Connect:
To learn more about the situation and the ELCA’s response:

• Sign up to receive Lutheran Disaster Response alerts.
• Check the Lutheran Disaster Response blog.
• "Like" Lutheran Disaster Response on Facebook, follow @ELCALDR on Twitter and follow @ELCA_LDR on Instagram.

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In late September, Hurricane Helene hit the coast of Florida as a  Category 4 hurricane and moved inland as a deadly storm, leaving  devastation throughout the southeastern United States. The storm caused flooding, especially in western North Carolina and  Tennessee, washing away whole towns and roads, leaving millions of  people without power, and driving thousands from their homes.

Hurricane  Milton hit Florida as a powerful Category 3 hurricane, bringing storm  surge, heavy rains, winds and tornadoes. Milton is one of the strongest  hurricanes to hit the area in decades. At least four people died,  and millions are without electricity. This storm is particularly devastating because many communities are only beginning to recover from  Hurricane Helene, which hit the Southeast just two weeks ago.
Lutheran  Disaster Response works with its partners to provide immediate relief,  such as water, food, clothing, gift cards, tarps and other needs. Since  many hurricanes also require a long-term response, Lutheran Disaster  Response provides support on the long road to recovery with disaster  case management, construction management, attention to unmet needs, and  emotional and spiritual care.
Please  pray for the safety of communities impacted by hurricanes, including  people in their paths and any emergency services personnel who are  responding. May God’s healing presence give them peace and hope in their  time of need. Pray that God will deliver comfort to those who mourn and  strength to those working diligently to rescue survivors.
Your gifts will support disaster-impacted communities. Gifts to Lutheran Disaster Response equip us to respond to those affected by hurricanes and related  disasters, such as mudslides, severe storms and flooding. These gifts  also empower us to respond to disasters whenever and wherever they  strike. Gifts to “Hurricane Response" will be used in full (100%) to assist those affected by hurricanes, until the response is complete.

To give by phone, call 800-638-3522. Checks or money orders can be mailed to:

Lutheran Disaster Response
P.O. Box 1809
Merrifield, VA 22116-8009

For Justice and Peace in Palestine\

Sumud is the ELCA Churches response to occupation and injustice in  Palestine and Israel.

In Jesus Christ all of life— every act of service, in every daily calling, in every corner of life— flows freely from a living, daring confidence in God’s grace.

Freed  by the transformative life of Christ, the ELCA is committed to  accompaniment, advocacy and awareness-raising with our partners in the  Holy Land and in the United States. For the past two decades that work  was organized through the ELCA Peace Not Walls campaign. In October 2023  the ELCA announced that, following an in-depth review by ELCA staff and  leadership from the Palestinian Lutheran church, Peace Not Walls would  be renamed and reconfigured as a new initiative, Sumud: For Justice in Palestine and Israel.

Sumud is an Arabic word meaning “steadfastness.” The term is widely used by  Palestinian theologians and others to signify Palestinian resistance to  the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and people. That resistance  takes the form of nonviolent advocacy for political change as well as  “resistance through existence,” embodied in education, social work, the  arts and one’s relationships with the land and community.

Lutheran Disaster Response is accompanying our companions in Ukraine,  Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Moldova, Lithuania and the Czech  Republic, as well as such ecumenical partners as this Lutheran World  Federation and Church World Service, in their humanitarian responses to  the crisis created by Russia’s war against Ukraine. These partners  provide refugees with immediate and long-term support. Presiding Bishop  Elizabeth Eaton has joined other religious leaders from Europe and  around the globe in issuing an interfaith call for peace in the region.
Please  pray for those in Ukraine, Russia and neighboring countries that have  been affected by the war in Ukraine. May God's healing presence give  them peace and hope in their time of need.
Your gifts designated for “Eastern Europe Crisis Response” will be used entirely (100%) to provide support for people impacted by conflict in the region.