A History of Outreach
by Sally Hauth

From its organization in 1955, Faith Lutheran Church has seen its mission in two ways: to serve its members in all their needs and to serve its brothers and sisters in the wider community and the world. Named and described below are some of the "outreach" ministries that have been supported by the congregation of Faith Lutheran Church during its first fifty years of existence (1955-2005). All activities were and are motivated by Christ's command to go into the world, to proclaim his name, and serve all his people.

AA and AL-ANON

Alcoholics Anonymous and Al Anon began meeting at the church in 1985. There are still two AA groups that meet in our facility, one on Sunday evening and another on Monday evening.

BOY SCOUTS

Cub Scout Den 3390 began 25 years ago. Diana Wiant was the leader at various times and now it is Bill Rogers. The Den meets on Thursday evenings at Faith with a current enrollment of 7 boys. There are 100 boys enrolled in Cub Scout Dens sponsored in part by Faith Lutheran Church

Boy Scout Troop 390 began in the 1960'S and was dropped in 1982 for ten years. It was reinstated in 1992 by Charlotte and Jim Horvath and Pastor Stan Sneeringer. The Troop meets on Tuesday evening at 7pm. Eagle Scout Awards have been earned by 44 boys.

Troop 390 Faith Members who have earned Eagle Scout awards:

Tim Shuff - 1966 Bill M. Eichner -1970
Randy D. Shields - 1970 Scott S. Shields - 1972
Phillip T. Shuff - 1972 Kenneth Gapsch - 1973
Kirk Mangels - 1982 Ryan Horvath - 1998
Contact Persons:
Troop 390 Boy Scouts - Jim Horvath
Troop 3390 Cub Scouts- Bill Rogers (330-864-4233)

BUSY FINGERS

The group began about 1972 by Dorcas Wilson who was making quilts in her home.

She thought that the tables at church would be just the right size for assembling them. She approached Pastor Sauer for permission to do this at the church. He agreed and Busy Fingers was born.

The first Sewers were:

Dorcas Wilson Esther Anderson
Maxine Shoemaker Doris Bailey
Clara Frankenfield Charlotte Shuff

A little later these women joined the group:

Betty Kesti Elsie Frankenfield
Rose Ahern Bettemae Ramsey

Between 1997 and 2003, Busy Fingers has made and donated 932 quilts, 35 afghans and 4 crib size quilts to Good Neighbors of Akron. The records from 1972 and before 1997 show between 30 and 100 quilts were given to Good Neighbors a year

Funds for thread, repair of sewing machines, and purchase of new sewing machines come from WELCA and unknown donors. Fabric is donated and clean donated clothing is ripped apart by our "rippers" for use in the quilts. There are 3 classifications of jobs - sewers, pinners and rippers. This group meets at 9:30am every Tuesday morning from September through May. All are welcome.

Contact persons: Maxine Heldridge and Charlotte Shuff

CHILDREN'S SERVICES BOARD

EASTER BASKETS

This outreach ministry began in 1994 and continues in 2005.

In 1994 the Children's Services Bureau put out a call for donations of filled Easter baskets for caseworkers to distribute to foster children during visits, as well as to children under CSB care. Jean Butler brought the idea to Faith as a service project. Members were encouraged to make up an Easter basket or two for the children. At the time, Vee Robinson was looking for a small service project and the unexpected donation of dozens of empty baskets from a local store inspired the first 12 baskets.

The congregation continued to generously donate individual baskets, but Vee Robinson asked the Pre-School to embrace this service project with donations of candy small toys, and various items to fill the growing number of empty baskets that were being collected during the year. Soon the project got too big for one person and John Maroni, Debbie Gottas and the youth of the church began participating by putting baskets together assembly-line style. In 2003, over 175 baskets were assembled by this group with generous donations from the Pre-School, the youth, Congregational Life and Nurture, WELCA, and many volunteers. Items such as Easter baskets, small toys, books and lots of bunnies are purchased AFTER Easter at substantial savings and are stored at Faith until the following year when many hands do this labor of love.

Our church contributed over 200 baskets in 2001 and was recognized by CSB for our generous donation of filled baskets for children of all ages. This past year, 2004, Faith gave 226 filled baskets to CSB

Contact Person: Vee Robinson

SCHOOL KITS

This outreach ministry began in 1985 and continues in 2005.

Pencils, tablets, crayons, and etc plus school bags are collected in August for foster children and other children who under the care of the Children Services Board. The supplies are taken to CSB and assembled by age group and go the 1000 or more children at the start of the school year. Contact person: Jean Butler

ENVIROMAN!

The recycle effort began in 1990 and was coordinated by Ed Rich and Bob Hartz. The following notice ran every other month in the church bulletin during l991:

ENVIRO-MAN RETURNS - SATURDAY
9:00 TO 11am
The following recyclables will be accepted:
Aluminum cans Hard Plastic(not Styrofoam)
Glass (separated by color)
SORRY NO NEWSPAPERS OR MAGAZINES
Check the "glassed in" bulletin board in the hallway by the Fellowship Hall. This provides information about our "Enviroman" collectibles.

Church members brought their recyclables to the church in plastic bags and deposited them at the edge of the church parking lot. Faith Church still recycles aluminum cans in the receptacle standing beside the soft drink cooler.

GREAT AMERICAN BAKE SALE, JULY 17, 2004

Faith Lutheran Church was the host for the area for the Great American Bake Sale. Baked products came from local homes and bakeries.

There were games, face painting, raffles, hot dogs and other food, music, petting and riding of small animals, clowns, a quarter mile of quarters and of course plenty of volunteer workers. Proceeds were given to feed hungry children in our country.

Coordinators: Margie Jelar and Stephanie Short

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

Habitat became a reality in western Summit Count in 1992 when a coalition of Bath, Copley, and Fairlawn churches was formed. The coordinator for many years was Mark Fry of the Bath United Church of Christ. For several years, the coordinator was Larry Reed from the Montrose Zion United Methodist Church. Today the effort is called Habitat Volunteer Builders.

Churches involved have included Bath UCC, Faith Lutheran, Bethel Lutheran, Copley Methodist, Fairlawn West United Church of Christ, Montrose Zion, Unitarian Universalist, High Street Christian and Fairlawn Lutheran.

Each church takes a turn during the first week of building called "the blitz" and supplies lunch and morning snacks for the workers. WELCA has supplied these needs during Faith's turn on several occasions. The following three weeks have three workdays until the house is finished.

One year, FLC Pastor Stan Sneeringer and Pastor Fry worked on the roof of a house under construction. The carpenters remarked that was as high up as they would let the Pastors go!

Faith Church gave $500 during the first of the coalition and now donates up to $2000 each year. The coalition has now built twelve houses. Faith Church, under the direction of the CLN Team, hosted an Italian Night Dinner on February 21, 2003 with the proceeds going to Habitat, Akron.

Content person: Don Dillahunt

MISSION CONGREGATIONS: IGLESIA LUTERNA La EPEFINIA, BAYAMON, PUERTO RICO 1990-91

In the early 1990's,Iglesia Luterna LaEpefinia was our mission partner church. It was selected from a book of possible partners. Under the direction of Deb Allen, a banner was made and sent to this church and they sent a banner back for us. Some of their craft items were sent to Faith to be sold at our Rummage Sale. A telephone hook-up for a joint liturgy of Covenant was held in the spring of 1991. Two hymns were sung in Spanish and la Epfinia Iglesia provided the music

Faith Church also purchased a TV and VCR and stand through Bill Robinson and Goodyear for la Epfinia Iglesia. Faith sent Deb Allen to Puerto Rico to pick them up and deliver them to the church. A year or so later Pastor Spindt was flown back here to speak at our Consecration Sunday Services.

KENYA MISSION TEAM

This outreach effort started in the early 1990's and continues today.

Currently our Mission Family is Bob and Denise Schmalzle in Niarobi, Kenya. Their children are Aaron and Jacob and are now in college at Wittenberg in Springfield, OH.

Faith Church began sponsoring the Schmalzles in early 1990's with a check for $50.00 each month. Many churches in Ohio and Pennsylvania support this family at their Niarobi mission. The Schmalzles serve refugees and foreigners in Kenya living in Kenya. They are associate missionaries with the World Mission Prayer League in Minneapolis.

Bob and Denise were in Ohio and Pennsylvania for six months on home assignment in 2003. They visited many of the sponsoring congregations and stayed with families in the area. A video was presented and many people were able to meet Bob and Denise. Since their boys had three weeks vacation from college at Christmas time, they were able to join their parents for part of their trip here in the United States.

The Schmalzles are developing a new mission congregation on the other side of Kenya at Dagoretti. The building they are in is small and much in need of repair. It will cost $140,000 for renovation and additions. Only $35,000 has been raised so far. Plans were to move into the new building in 2004.

Dean Tshenuwani Simon Farisani was exiled to the USA during Africa's apartheid era. He gave lectures on his treatment in Africa and the church in Africa at Wittenberg University. Faith contributed $1000 for the support of those lectures. Mr. Farsini has since left the church and is part of the South African government.

September and October 1996: Rev. Moffat Mahlangu visited our congregation from South Africa. He stayed with Pastor Sneeringer and Linda one week and one week with Lowell and Marlene Unger. Rev.Mahlangu attended our church services and "tried" to teach us to sing and dance in his language.

MOTHER'S TOGETHER

Joy Dial founded this organization in 1985 to reach out to mothers at home with small children. It grew to have both morning and afternoon sessions. There were nearly 100 women who participated when Mothers Together moved to two sessions. Today there are 60-65 women who meet every Monday morning from 9 to 11:45am during the school year. Programs are varied and deal with childcare, food or what ever may pertain to the raising of children. The women may either attend the information session or may just gather for an "adult chat" with women their own age.

Joy was joined by Joyce Bartolomeo in 1986 and they received a certificate of Proclamation from Mayor Kostoff of Fairlawn for their outstanding contribution to the community. These ladies were the first to be given an award to individuals. Usually these awards are given to groups.

Contact Persons: Chris Hopkins (330-668-9171) and Nicki Moshier (330-867-4622).

OPEN M

Open M started with the vision of four churches in Akron. It is now supported by eleven denominations from 72 churches in the area. Faith became a covenant member in 1996.

Open M strives to have a presence in the inner city by providing a variety of services:

  1. Free medical clinic
  2. Food
  3. Hot lunches (the last eight days of each month)
  4. Christmas baskets
  5. Community Thanksgiving dinner
  6. Summer camps for children
  7. Community Service work camps
Food supplies come from the Akron/Canton Food Bank as well as a covenant with churches that have "adopted" food items. At the present time, Faith has adopted "instant pudding" to supply the food pantry the year around.

During the Christmas season, we are asked to also bring in two-pound bags of brown sugar. This prompted Pastor Timothy Crouch, Open M's past resident Missionary and CEO, to proclaim Faith the sweetest church in Akron. For the past several years, Faith has donated over 200 two-pound bags of sugar each year to Open M.

Faith has supported the monthly Hot Lunch Program and the Thanksgiving dinner. Both served in covenant churches. Help is always needed.

Open M operates the only free medical and dental clinic in Summit County. Faith Church members have contributed time, talent and financial aid.

Contact Person: Norm Schmidt

PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY

The idea for a prayer shawl ministry came when we worshipped at Community of Christ Lutheran Church in Whitehouse, Ohio in late 2002. The pastor there is Rev. Rich Ferne who is the father of our daughter-in-law Sara. Near the beginning of the service Pastor Ferne said a prayer for the recipients of the prayer shawls and then asked those present to pass the shawls among us during the service. To each shawl there was attached a card with the name of the recipient. We were asked to say an individual and silent prayer for the well being of the person before passing the shawl on to the next person. After he said his prayer, Pastor Ferne asked for comments from the congregation. A woman parishioner stood and told about her father, a resident in a nursing home, and a recipient of a prayer shawl made by a church member. She told of his gratitude for the shawl and for the prayers it represented. It had, she said, brought him a good deal of comfort, both physically, emotionally and spiritually.

I found there was interest in starting a similar project at Faith Lutheran Church. By March 2003, we had several members who were either knitting or crocheting soft, beautiful, multi-colored shawls. The Congregational Life and Nurture committee of the church took on the task of coordinating the new ministry. It provides the yarn, needles and hooks.

Since Spring 2003 (and it's Fall 2004 as this is written), eighteen prayer shawls have been distributed to members of Faith Lutheran Church and friends in the community. Pastor Jean Hansen integrates the prayer and distribution activity into the days worship and she and others identify likely recipients. Expressions of thanks have been received from many. About nine members of congregation currently make the shawls and others are invited to join at any time. As always, the intent of this outreach project is to remember the ill, the struggling and others in need of special blessings. We give thanks to God for the opportunity to extend his love to others.

Contact Person: Penny Thompson.

RUMMAGE SALE

Our rummage sale was to be a one-time project in 1991. That was then and this is now and the Rummage is an annual event the first Friday and Saturday of November each year since that time. It involves all church members in some way---bringing in their treasures, baking for the baked goods table, setting up for the sale, pricing, working the day of the sale helping with the food stand and cleaning up after the sale. Friday night is for Church members and the proceeds from this are designated for a special project. The proceeds from Saturday go to one or sometimes many projects. Following is a run down of where the rummage sale has given money:

  • 1991 - TV-VCR, mortgage payment to Iglesia Luterana LaEpefinia, our partner church in Puerto Rico
  • 1992 - Youth trip to Atlanta, Hurricane Andrew
  • 1993 - Battered Women's Shelter, Haven of Rest, Flood Relief, Youth, Renewal & Remodeling (church)
  • 1995 - Blue Dolly for Sexton, Paint for R & R, Basketball backboard, tables, easels
  • 1996 - Office remodeling, Bunn coffee maker in kitchen, Open M
  • 1997 - Keyboard for the Light Service, Hospice Soup Ministry
  • 1998 - Hospice Soup Ministry, Battered Women's Shelter, Vacation Church School, Christmas Trees and decorations for the sanctuary, 4 - 6 ft tables, 4 - 8 ft. tables
  • 1999 - Hospice Soup Ministry, 8 tables, Battered Women's Shelter, New Commerstown Church(they had a fire), Vacation Church School, Youth,10ft. ladder
  • 2000 - Hospice Soup Ministry, Vacation Church School, Carpet library and bridal room, Decorate bridal room and bathroom, Plants for Fellowship Hall, Adjustable tables for Sunday School
  • 2001 - John Maroni, U.S. flag, Youth, Vacation Church School, Carpet cradle room and office, Decorate cradle room
  • 2002 - Camping supplies for Boy Scouts, John Maroni, Money to Busy Fingers, Heiffer Project, Vacation Church School, Youth, Habitat For Humanity, Trailer for the Light Band, Coats for Open M, St. Stevens Bridge Ministry, Yarn for Prayer Shawls, H M Life Opportunities, Pastor's discretionary fund
  • 2003 - Youth, Pastor's discretionary fund, Vacation Church School, Missionary support to the Schmalzle's, Easter Baskets, Christmas Wall and door decorations, John Maroni
Contact Person: Judy Vernon

THE SALVATION ARMY GIVING TREE

In 1997 Faith Church became aware of the fact that the Salvation Army had what it called "Angel Trees." We decided to participate. As a consequence, we provide the Christmas tree and the Salvation Army sends us 36 tags. Each tag has information on it about a child and the child's age, sex, and an idea of what that child would like in the way of a gift from Santa Claus.

We place the tree at the entrance to the sanctuary and hang the tags on the tree. Generous church members pick one of the tags and include the child and his/her wishes on their shopping lists. All the tags are soon gone and gifts appear under the tree. The gifts are left unwrapped with the tags selected from the tree fastened to the gifts.

Contact Person: Jean Nouse

HOSPICE SOUP MINISTRY

In 1993 Faith Member Ken Nouse became aware of the lack of nourishing food available to families of patients at Hospice (Copley, Ohio). Pursuing a hobby of his, he started making four gallons of soup a week and taking it, frozen in containers, to Hospice.

Soon the demand for more soup became so great, as well as the need for larger kitchen space, Ken asked for volunteers from the church. The response was most gratifying and Ken, Sally Hauth, Jean Goddard and Charlotte Shuff formed the nucleus of the future "Soup for Hospice" outreach ministry

The number of people involved has grown from four to forty and the amount of soup made each week from four to twelve gallons. Often extra soup is made during the week according to the demand.

Four teams each consisting of four or five people meet on their Saturday morning of the month and make one of four or five different soups. The soup is then frozen in 24-quart containers and delivered to Hospice the following week.

This ministry is funded by donations, not only from church members, but also from grateful family members of patients at Hospice. In 1999 the Soup Ministry was awarded the Golden Rule Award sponsored by the J.C. Penny Co. A prominent recognition is given annually to the group or individual who has performed outstanding volunteer service to their local community.

Not only has the "Soup Ministry" been a wonderful outreach program for Hospice, but also it has brought members of Faith Church closer together by working for a common good.

Contact Person: Sally Hauth