July 2005: From LSS President Edith Lohr

LSS Today

“One Body – Many Parts:” a familiar phase frequently used to describe the Church, the Body of Christ.  It is a uniquely Christian metaphor for our understanding that, as God’s people, we each have been blessed with different gifts, and, when we work together using those various gifts, we have the potential and opportunity to be God’s agents for good in the world.   “One Body – Many Parts” also describes the agencies of the Church, such as LSS, that are committed to serving God’s people in need by --

• Assisting a family longing to adopt a child languishing in a Chinese orphanage or a child with special needs;
• Accepting applications from older adults who need the kind of affordable assisted living we will provide at Luther Ridge;
• Volunteering to paint a room at the Lutheran Home of Southbury or read aloud to the residents of the Lutheran Home of Worcester;
• Giving a new start in life to a kid who needs a stable home, in one of 100 LSS foster or group homes;
• Celebrating the Fourth of July with the residents of one of 25 LSS family homes for adults with developmental disabilities in Maine and Massachusetts;
• Presenting the first reliable car they’ve ever owned to a family in Connecticut;
• Sharing freedom with a Somali Bantu family new to America after escaping brutality and oppression.

One unifying mission drives the vast and complex social ministry “machine” of Lutheran Social Services of New England: In response to Christ’s love, we serve and care for people in need.  Yes, we are organized into many parts to accomplish this work.  But we stand together, under one mission, to serve God and our neighbors as Lutherans and all people of good will who join us in this ministry, including our brothers and sisters in the Episcopal Dioceses of New Hampshire, Vermont and Western Massachusetts. 

God has empowered each of us to accomplish a great deal individually.  I can assure you that the stories you’ll read in this issue of LSS Today are about what we have accomplished together.  For more than 134 years Lutherans in New England have been seeking new and innovative ways to serve people. We have a long history of breaking new ground!  By the end of 2005, the “breaking new ground” efforts of the past four years will result in new programs and services for more than 150 new clients a day!  This has only been possible because you have helped by giving the gifts of your time, your financial support and your prayers! Thank you!  We are . . .