Quilters for LWR
This Bethlehem group meets on alternate Thursdays to sew quilts (see photo, above) and school bags for Lutheran World Relief to distribute.
Service Sunday
The first Sunday of each month is Service Sunday. Recent projects have benefited Indy Reads, Lutheran Child and Family Services, Laundry & More, Indiana Youth Group, Versiti Blood Center, and The Sharing Place.
Mid-North Food Pantry
Bethlehem helps to support the Mid-North Food Pantry at Trinity Outreach Center, 3333 N Meridian St, which provides emergency food supplies to the needy in the area south of Bethlehem. Members support the pantry through food and monetary gifts as well as volunteering.
The Sharing Place
The Sharing Place is a food pantry operated by Lutheran Child and Family Services at 6501 Sunnyside Road. They provide free food to those in need on the northeast side of Indianapolis. They also sponsor a back-to-school program for needy children in August and a Christmas assistance program in December. Bethlehem members contribute food, provide financial support, and volunteer at The Sharing Place (317-760-0420).
Great Chicken Round-Up / Helping Hams
Winter brings a special opportunity for Bethlehem members to contribute to the city’s food pantries, the Great Chicken Round-Up. Many boxes of canned and packaged goods, as well as fresh chickens, are purchased and assembled (during the hour between services) for delivery throughout the city by the Community Based Services program of Lutheran Child and Family Services. Another drive in the spring, “Helping Hams,” follows the same plan.
Lutherwood
Bethlehem members have a special concern for and a long-standing relationship with Lutherwood, a residential treatment center in Indianapolis for children who are recovering from the effects of abuse, neglect, and/or abandonment. Lutherwood is associated with the Community Health Network and depends on government funding. Through a strong traditional connection, the Lutheran community of Indianapolis provides the home and its residents with much-needed love, attention, and ministry.
Campus Ministry at Butler & IUPUI
Through the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the ELCA and the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis, we support a campus ministry at these campuses, Grace Unlimited, under the leadership of Fr. Charles Allen.