Going Green--

There are so many articles, television documentaries and radio station announcements about going green, how can we not do a few of the things?  It’s easy to think about going green, and it doesn’t take much adjustment, however, it is still change.  We all know that “change” is a huge unsettling black hole.

 Well,  a few of our churches have made that decision to go green in areas where people will really notice.  Settlement Lutheran of Gowen has decided to do away with paper products for their fellowship gatherings and dinners.  (To understand this commitment, you need to know they host a lot of dinners.)  They have a coffee cup tree on the wall.  Each member has a coffee cup and is responsible for washing it and putting it back in its place.  There is a cup tree for visitors also.

 The doing of dishes has become a fellowship time.  I have seen both men and women up to their elbows in suds washing and others drying and putting away dishes.  It’s a commitment of care for “mother earth”.  It’s also a way of showing God we can be good stewards of what he has given us.

 St. Paul Lutheran, Greenville, has a recycle bin in the narthex for church bulletins that would normally go home to trash bins.  There is also a bin in the office that gets filled on a weekly basis with scraps of paper and junk mail.  Downstairs we have recycling for plastic and aluminum.  If you have ideas on how to set up recycle areas and are doing something creative at your church or your home, please drop us a note.  We’d love to hear what you are doing to “Go Green.”

West Michigan LSSM Spotlight-

Coming to America is a Christmas gift for refugees 

by Doug Lachniet 

Every day, Lutheran Social Services of Michigan touches the lives of people. Just ask refugee John Selemani, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. We settled John and his wife and four young children in Grand Rapids in June 2009.

John, his wife and their oldest son fled the war in Congo and lived eight years in Burundi, where refugees often went without food for days or even died from hunger. It was a very hard life. “I could not get a job, my children could not go to school. Our house had no running water or electricity,” John said. “There was no hope for my children.”

The family knew no English when they arrived. Today, John is employed and the family has an apartment. “The children go to school and have clothes and food,” John said. The Christian family attends a church, thanks to American friends who provide them rides.

Even in these difficult economic times in the U.S., no matter how bad it gets, John said, things are much better here. “Coming to America is the biggest Christmas gift I could have,” John said. “Here my children have a good future.”

Last fiscal year, Lutheran Social Services settled 211 refugees in West Michigan. They came from Burma, Bhutan, Iraq, Congo, Rwanda, Cuba and Sudan. Since Oct. 1, LSSM has had 43 new arrivals, with about 180 more expected through September.

“People can assist us with monetary gifts to supplement the limited funding we receive to help each family,” said Chris Cavanaugh, program manager for Refugee Resettlement.

“We also need donations of beds – mattresses, box springs, frames, bedding, dining tables and chairs, lamps and end tables, couches, household and kitchen items, cleaning supplies, clothing and baby items – plus volunteers and sponsors to be a support to the refugees.”

Contact Chris Cavanaugh at 616-356-1934 or by email at ccava@lssm.org.