Love Your Neighbor – Page 3 – Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

Prayer Vigils in Manchester

Posted on March 3, 2020March 3, 2020 by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

New Hampshire Immigrant Solidarity Network Prayer Vigils are scheduled for Tuesdays March 17, April 7 and 21 and first and third Tuesdays thereafter. All are held at the Norris Cotton Federal Building at 275 Chestnut Street in Manchester, New Hamsphire, and begin at 9:00 a.m.

We also gather on the first Tuesday of the month right after the vigil (approximately 10:30 am) at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Manchester at 14 Elm Street, in the Parish Hall to hear reports from immigrant communities, engage in fellowship, and plan advocacy together.

Your participation is welcomed. If you would like to carpool, sign up here. Please contact Rosemary Affeldt [rosemary.affeldt@comcast.net] for more details.

Food Pantry Needs

Posted on June 19, 2019September 4, 2019 by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

Stop by one of the food pantries with your donations or bring non-perishables to worship any Sunday!

LISTEN’s FOOD PANTRY

LISTEN’s food pantry supplies qualifying households in our service area with 1-2 weeks of groceries each month. We also have a personal care room for toiletries.
LISTEN relies on food drives and donations to keep the pantry in stock. We get wholesale pricing to ensure cash donations are maximized.
In 2016, LISTEN spent $33,285 on food for community dinners and the food pantry. 575 unique households received assistance from the pantry.
3 bags of groceries can save a household $90.

Continue reading Food Pantry Needs

Turn ordinary items into extraordinary gifts!

Posted on January 16, 2019May 3, 2019 by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

At OSLC, we are supplying and packaging “Baby Care Kits” for Lutheran World Relief (LWR). Completed kits are distributed by LWR to those most in need as part of Project Promise, the same program to which we send our school kits and our quilts. Last year we sent 15 kits and this year our goal is to send 20-25! These kits are then included with the quilts and school kits that will be shipped in May 2019.

How you can help:
LWR has provided clear instructions on what items should be in each kit. (They must be sensitive to the many laws regarding imports to various countries.) At OSLC, we’re hoping to make it easy to participate.

You’ll find a ‘clothesline’ display in the narthex. Simply pick as many items as you wish to purchase/contribute and return the item(s) to OSLC. We’ll have a “Baby Care Kit” container outside of the Church Office, so you can turn in the items whenever you have them. The deadline is Sunday, April 28.

If you have any questions, please contact Kari Jo Grant or the church office. Thank you for your generosity!

Remembering Evelyn Johnson (1922-2018)

Posted on May 4, 2018January 30, 2019 by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

Evelyn Ingeborg Johnson, 95, born Nov. 17, 1922, in Forestville, Conn. to Frederick L. Johnson, and Anna Paulina (Bengtson), died peacefully Friday, March 16, 2018, in her home at Harvest Hill in Lebanon, NH. A celebration of Evelyn’s life was held at Our Savior on Friday, April 6th. The Rev. Robert Wohlfort, Transitional Pastor, led the service. Following reflections from Pastor Wohlfort, Evelyn’s hospice chaplain the Rev. Susan Langle, and Evelyn’s niece Lois Semrau.

I did not know Evelyn in her prime…and I heard about her of those years via apt clichés such as, “No shrinking violet was Evelyn,” and “No way was she a wallflower.”

24 hours after her death, I arrived here for the monthly men’s breakfast and the conversation was peppered with anecdotes and laughter and stories about this lovely woman:

-spirited and vocal time and presence at Church Council

-her energetic Spirit filled spirit

-her voice and fun filled manner in the choir

-her all around memorable presence

At the quilting group yesterday I learned of the coffee scoop around her neck from which she made the brew ”…that did pushups in the cup.”…an Army term.

Somehow, many years ago, she learned that a boy’s camp in Ossipee was to be sold and the Lutherans were interested. So, she drove to the camp to check it out, was delighted with what she experienced and enjoyed Calumet on many occasions and contributed to its life and mission.

During my last visit with her I was pleasantly surprised to be with Evelyn who was freshly bathed, dressed in brightly colored pajamas and a plush robe…a stark contrast to her tiny form tucked into bed a few days earlier.

On her chair side table was a service bulletin from, I think, Augustana Lutheran Church in Houston. The date was in the early 90s. This opened a reminiscence that clued me in to a portion of her joyous work of consulting with congregations throughout the nation. In Houston she was very proud of being a part of this congregation that was the first congregation of that city to integrate its membership with people of color. Evelyn was absolutely clear that she and Augustana were simply following Jesus. Continue reading Remembering Evelyn Johnson (1922-2018)

The Friendship Initiative

Posted on November 21, 2017June 26, 2019 by Our Savior Lutheran Church and Campus Ministry

In Collaboration with Christ Church at Dartmouth and the Upper Valley Working Group a person-to-person effort called The Friendship Initiative is beginning.

“The Friendship Initiative” involves a volunteer or group of volunteers (a family unit, a couple, a single retiree or small group of students) reaching out to a family, couple, or single individual to provide positive support. This support requires a trip to Manchester every 4-6 weeks for personal interaction which could be in the form of a walk, teaching English, tutoring a child, helping with a resume, or simply going out for pizza. The program does not expect the volunteers to solve problems or financial issues. Financial issues are normally handled by the family’s case worker at the International Institute of New England (IINE), the entity that resettles refugees in Manchester and Nashua, NH.

Volunteers will be introduced to refugee families through Sister Irene Marie Pelland, a nun from Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, who has been working with refugees since 1985.

A glimpse into the lives of refugees in Manchester:

To find our more or offer your friendship please contact Lars Johanson or the church office.