Volunteering

Funeral Food Volunteers

Along with our We Care program, we are in need of congregational volunteers willing to make food dishes when there is a funeral at our church. Currently, we have a committee that serves the meals. They are Laura Kaibel, Sunnie Stilz, and Audrey Luedtke. They purchase meat trays, cheese and bread. Complimentary dishes are needed. Suggested dishes woud be mostaccioli, has brown potato casserole, broccoli rice casserole, other vegetable casseroles, macaroni and cheese, meat casseroles, layered lettuce salad, vegetable salad, Jell-O salads, potato salad, deviled eggs, cakes, pies, or other desserts. Dishes should serve 10-12 people. If you would be willing to volunteer and make a dish when needed, please contact the church office to let your interest be known and the a member of the committee will call to ask you to make something. If you have a preference of the dish you would like to make, please let us know. Your efforts are appreciated in this caring ministry.

River Roads Lutheran School / OASIS

River Roads Lutheran School has a long tradition of Lutheran Education and has been affiliated with Ebenezer Lutheran Church. Currently the school is being threatened by the inability of Urban congregations to finance Christian Elementary Schools. River Roads Lutheran School is located in the Baden area. While it was once a German settlement, it is now mostly populated by African Americans. The current enrollment has 162 students, 50 of those are receiving some type of tuition assistance to attend the school.
Through the OASIS program that Good Shepherd has with River Roads Lutheran School, Thrivent (formerly AAL) has graciously been forwarding money netted from the Barbecue Fund to their Scholarship Fund. This year the school will receive $800 plus $800 match money from Thrivent which is designated to their Scholarship Fund. As a member of the OASIS and realizing the need, I along with the other tutors thank Thrivent for their donation.. Ida Zastrow and I have worked with a student that can only go to this school if he receives money from the Scholarship Fund. He is a twin, one of three children living with a single parent, the father who is dealing with kidney failure. The father and his three children were baptized and became active members of Ebenezer, and because of his illness cannot contribute financially to their tuition.
OASIS (Older Adults Services Intergenerational Systems) started working with students at River Roads Lutheran School three years ago. Presently we have five ladies from Good Shepherd going to the school every week on Tuesday morning. The ladies doing these services are Ida Zastrow, Sunnie Stilz, Ruth Woods, Barb Murphy and Melba Bokelman. As OASIS Intergenerational Tutors they are not viewed as teachers, but as mentors to young children. The Language Experience Approach used in this program draws from the tutor's and child's experiences to develop language skills. They try to foster in them a positive self-image and motivation to read and communicate. The tutors receive three days of formalized training. If anyone is interested in joining or learning more about being an OASIS Tutor, speak with any of the ladies presently involved.

Consider the following list of persons involved in supporting Sunday morning worship:

By my count, that’s about 19 persons who are involved as volunteers each Sunday.  On festival Sundays, that number jumps to 26.  That’s lots of people.  I hope that one of them might be you.  Children eight years old and tall enough to reach the candles can serve as acolytes or hold the basket to receive used communion glasses.  Children and youth 10 and older who have sufficient strength to balance the processional cross could serve as crucifer.  Youth and adults can serve as lectors (readers for the lessons) and to help distribute communion.  Youth and adults may also work with the altar guild or ushers. 

Training is available so that you will not feel uncomfortable volunteering for these positions.