The Board of Social Ministry coordinates all social action programs bringing the needs of people in the congregation, community and society in general to the attention of the congregation.  Meetings are held on a monthly basis.  Our ministry includes:

Backpack Ministry

We support three community schools with donations of school supplies and nurse’s items.  White Bluff Elementary, Windsor Forest Elementary, and the STEM Academy each provide us with a wish list at the beginning and middle of the school year.  Backpacks are filled with the generous donations of the congregation and are distributed to the schools to meet their student’s needs. 

Book of the Month Club

This monthly meeting is our answer to small group Bible Study.  We rotate locations for a pot luck supper and Bible study, sometimes showing movies with Christian themes.  Our group serves as the unofficial Cluster 6 Bible study with an open invitation to anyone who would like to join us.  Time and location are listed in the church bulletin. 

Food Pantry

The Food Pantry provides food for families who ask for the church’s assistance.  The Food Pantry is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.  Items are purchased with the generous donations provided by Trinity Lutheran Church members.  We are in continual need of the following items: canned soup, meat, stew, hash, fruit and vegetables, pasta and pasta sauce, crackers, microwaveable meals, boxed meals w/meat, tuna, cereal and peanut butter and jelly.  Donated items that are not appropriate for distribution through the food pantry are given to the Living Vine. 

Social Outreach

Social Outreach is coordinated with other ministries at Trinity Lutheran Church through adult only, family and/or children events.  We have the responsibility of developing and maintaining activities that reach beyond church walls to the local community. 

Support to the Community

We provide support to Interfaith Hospitality Network and SafeShelter, Center for Domestic Violence Services through social fundraisers and specific events to benefit these organizations.  All are welcome to join us as we reach out into the community.

Sunday Breakfast

Sunday Breakfast is provided by many different groups including Social Ministry, Youth Ministry, Lizzie and the Comfort Dog Ministry, the Board of Elders and various boards and groups that would like to serve this way to collect funds for their ministries, events and projects.  Breakfast is served between early Service and Sunday School.  We are always looking for more help in the kitchen.  If your group would like to commit to a Sunday breakfast just let Sharon Grefski know and she will get you on the schedule. 

Board of Social Ministry members are:

Sharon Grefski                     (912) 927-4569.

Steve Bellmoff                      (912) 308-7584

Pam Edwards                       (912) 713-3111

Bob Grefski                           (912) 659-6915

LeAnn Grefski                      (912) 920-0216

Karen Hanovich                   (912) 656-6511

Brenda Nuscher                   (912) 657-6418

Amanda Tavormina             (912) 373-4222

BOARD OF SOCIAL MINISTRY - February 2020 Newsletter

We would be remiss if we did not extend our sincerest thanks to our TLC family for supporting all of the ministries that Social Ministry has brought before them. The Food Pantry Advent Calendar project was extremely well supported. Bud and Rosemary have had to add the use of an additional closet to store all the donations. The Christmas Safe Shelter project was supported by donations of time, treasure and talent by those who provided and made scarves and hats, toys for the kids, and gifts for the moms. We’ve received multiple messages of appreciation from the Safe Shelter director and the workers who deal directly with the kids and moms. We’ve learned ways in which we can make this ministry more effective and we’ll be including these in our future Safe Shelter Projects. The Backpack Ministry is always fully funded so that we can meet the needs of our three elementary schools and their nurses.

Our January and February outreach efforts are aimed at the school nurses at the three neighborhood schools that we minister to. The school “clinics” provide a multitude of services to our kids and grandkids to help them deal with physical, emotional, and nutritional issues that challenge them during the school year. We have wish lists for requested items in the Narthex and on Trinity’s FB page. If you don’t care to shop, we will happily do the lifting and toting with your cash donations. Please take a moment and look at the “thank you” notes received by the students we are able to help with the backpack/nurse ministry. They are posted in the Social Hall. They will warm your hearts!

We had many comments about the need to provide more fellowship opportunities that are accessible by our seniors, and we have taken this to heart. It will be our goal in 2020 to schedule a potluck lunch on some of our single service Sundays. We are also scheduling Lunch and Learn events for folks who would like to come to church to learn a skill or collect information from our talented TLC members. Since materials and lunch do not come free, we will be charging a minimal fee for these events, the first of which will be a session led by Karen Hanovich to teach our ladies how to make the soaps and bath salts that were donated to Safe Shelter moms. This will take place in March on a Saturday afternoon. Watch for details.

Speaking of fellowship events, it was brought to my attention that it is challenging to keep potluck and Thanksgiving Dinner donations warm during the course of a meal. The kitchen serving line is not always adequate to handle all the donations. I was aware of the availability of professional catering steam trays that Leann Clifton is selling, and she was agreeable to give TLC a very fair price to have first right of refusal. With Karl’s blessing Social Ministry has purchased these steam trays and will make them available to all church functions. They will go a long way in making our events more enjoyable.