Social Ministry Update
The Social Ministry Commitee is seeking input and assistance from all members
of the congregation for activities in 2004. We need your ideas and want to
know what issues you care about.
For many people, an active social ministry program is a sign of a healthy
and loving congregation -- and something that attracts newcomers to Augustana.
But we need your help.
One way to tell us about ministries you would like Augustana to participate
in is to join us at our Annual Planning Retreat . The retreat will be a potluck
lunch Sunday, February 1. We will meet after church at Sara Markle-Elder's
home at 1335 Taylor Street, NW. Call Sara at 202-291-5565 for directions.
We also welcome anyone to join the committee or to participate in our activities
on an ad hoc basis. We meet every first Sunday of the month in the yellow
classroom by the kitchen. We will not meet in January.
For another item: Martha's Table
The Social Ministry Committee is seeking input from the congregation about
our continued volunteering for Martha's Table.
Volunteering at Martha's Table on the first Saturday of the month has been
a regular Social Ministry activity for five or six years. Volunteering for
Martha's Table has declined considerably. We would like to know if Augustanans
are interested in continuing volunteering there, or if there is support and
enthusiasm to volunteer elsewhere.
As you may know, Martha's Table is just around the corner from Augustana
at 14th and T Streets. Martha's Table provides meals to the hungry and homeless
at several sites in DC, as well as providing tutoring and other programs
for children in the neighborhood. Volunteers take soup, sandwiches, and desserts
to the sites in vans. Augustana has always done the "one-stop," a
site in Chinatown, which makes for a relatively short time committment, from
4:45 to about 6:30. Those of us who have done it have found that it is both
enriching and fun.
Every month, the goal is to have three or four Augustanans help distribute
food to the hungry and homeless. Many of our diehard volunteers from the
past are now parents of small children and can no longer do this activity.
Some members of the congregation have said that they would like to volunteer,
but distributing food out of the back of the van is too physically difficult.
Others have expressed an interest in doing this with children, but Martha's
Table does not want volunteers who are younger than middle school age.
Please let us know if you want Social Ministry to continue our monthly commitment
to Martha's Table, or if you would like us to coordinate another activity.
Another possibible activity would be to serve dinner on a monthly basis to
the homeless women who live in the Night Shelter at N Street Village, which
is not so physically demanding. Contact Amy Yergey at 301-294-9185 or at
yergeya@catholicharitiesdc.org.
Please also consider joining us! We welcome and need your help.
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