We support charities and organizations, from local to global, with our facilities, our money, and our prayers.
Fresh Harvest Kits
Through a partnership with High Desert Food & Farm Alliance Our Savior’s collects local produce from farmers and gardeners and creates meal kits with this leftover produce. We collect pantry staples so that whoever gets this kit won’t have to do any additional shopping. The recipe is printed in English and Spanish. The first two weeks of the month volunteers bring these fresh harvest kits to St Vincent’s food pantry on Wednesday evenings. The last two weeks of the month volunteers bring the fresh over to First Baptist’s food pantry Monday Morning. Last year (2021) during the harvest season we diverted over 600 Ibs of produce into the hands of the food insecure. We are thankful for the ways we can partner with our neighbors so that all are fed.
Discretionary Fund
We contribute to a fund for use at the pastor’s discretion. Our funds partner with St Vincent De Paul of Crook County to provide support for families who experience emergency needs. Last year our Discretionary Fund contributed nearly $3700 to help families.
Prayer Shawls
Knitters and crocheters gather every week to create prayer shawls. Each stitch is created with prayer for people the creators don’t even know, to provide loving, prayer-filled accompaniment to those who are facing health crises and losses. Shawls are dedicated with prayer as they are gathered together, and distributed as there is need to people in the congregation, to friends, and sometimes to friends of friends. Often we gather to wrap the recipient in the prayer shawl and pray over them as they receive it.
Quilts
A small but dedicated group of quilters meets weekly to create quilts for Lutheran World Relief. These quilts are gathered yearly from the Northwest for transport to LWR’s Baltimore warehouse. They are then distributed to places like Turkey and Pakistan following natural disasters and to places like Kenya where people are living in refugee camps. In this photo, quilters are placing finished quilts on our church pews to dedicate them to God as the work of our hands for the care and support of any who need it. The whole congregations prays over them before packing them off to the LWR warehouse for distribution around the world.
Rachel’s Day
Rachel’s Day is a remembrance of neglected and abused women and children, which happens each year on the first Sunday in May. This year WELCA gathered kits for distribution who women who are escaping abusive situations. These kits included things like a camera and log book, pen and pencil for documentation of stalking.
Thankoffering Sunday
Each year in the Spring WELCA brings together their Thankoffering Boxes. Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters go into those boxes during the year as daily thanksgiving for blessings. When they are collected and gathered into one large national offering, those pennies provide grant monies for special projects worldwide.
Since so many organizations offer food baskets at Christmas, we decided several years ago to pack food baskets for Thanksgiving for families who struggle to provide daily food. We are joined by a Girl Scout Troop, several of our youth, and many volunteers from our congregation to assemble the boxes. All packaged foods have been donated and Thrivent Financial provides cash for certificates for meat. In 2018 we packed baskets for 20 families.