Father Ted and I are attending a presentation by United Power for Action and Justice tonight to be held at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Arlington Heights. This is something he set up for us to attend after a discussion in the Bishop’s Committee about how we as a small congregation could make connections with other groups to make a difference in people’s lives.

After Sunday’s Annual Meeting (the shortest in living memory), the leadership and congregation of Holy Innocents are opening ourselves up to new opportunities to serve in our community. One way is to find out what ongoing programs we might join or adapt.

One of our new initiatives is to assist with some of the local PADS programs, and I notice that Our Savior is another PADS site, and they’re looking for laundry volunteers, too. If possible I hope to make contact with their coordinator so we can get our small but enthusiastic band of volunteers on their schedule. We’re waiting to hear back on scheduling from Prince of Peace Lutheran’s Friday night crew regarding laundry detail. Both churches require laundry pick-up and return on Sundays, so we might have to split up a volunteer team to cover both.

Something wonderful happened at Sunday’s service; it’s hard to explain, but people are excited about what we hope to do this year, not just for ourselves as a church, but for people in need right in our own communities.

If interested in any volunteer opportunities, or if you’d like to drop off bags of groceries for our Supplemental Food Pantry, please call the church office, or and I will forward the request to Father Ted.