Here Team Mission

The Here Team exists to empower the other ministries at Bethel. At this time, the here team is specifically responsible for the Ministry Fair and the Stewardship Campaign.

The Here Team can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Namibia Fill the Container Drive

The Metro DC Synod’s Namibian Task Force would like to invite you to reach out a helping hand to Namibian children in need!

We would like to inform you of our upcoming Fill the Container Drive. We will be shipping a 20’ x 8’ container of donated goods to the children in the youth hostels located within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN) synod.

These hostels provide food, housing, basic healthcare, and supervision for 1,650 children between the ages of 5 and 15, in locations near public schools. The children, often from very rural areas and/or orphaned due to HIV/AIDS are already vulnerable. Without these hostels, they risk losing access to an education as well.

The hostel program is currently struggling financially and is facing a 46% budget cut by the end of this year. At this time the majority of its funds are being used to provide food to the children. The goal of the Fill the Container drive is to help provide for some of the children’s other needs. The Namibian Task Force will be collecting gently used clothing and shoes, children’s books, school supplies, health kits, blankets, and toys.

We will be collecting donated items from Bethel members throughout June and any appropriate items left from the yard sale will also be included in our donation to the drive. Bethel Lutheran Church and its members will be playing a very key role in this synod wide project. We will be hosting the volunteers who are in charge of the sorting and packing of the donated goods.

From June 23-July 10 we will be receiving donation from other churches within our synod and storing them in the gym. If you are interested in helping with this drive please contact Mara Schleicher

What's Needed:

Clothing and shoes for children ages 5-15
Children's books
School Supplies
Health kits
Blankets
Toys

Untrim-A-Tree

Untrim-A-Tree is a Christmas project coordinated with SERVE [Securing Emergency Resources Through Volunteer Efforts] to collect and deliver presents to designated area families. Names are provided to prevent duplication of services.

In early November the coordinator contacts SERVE for a list of names. Experience has shown us that we can handle 20 families but that 40 families are just a bit too much for our sized congregation.

Once we have a list, a master list is created; from that list we make 2 gift tags for each child (one for our records and one for the gift buyer). We then contact the congregation via a newsletter article or bulletin announcement and set up the Untrim-a-Tree. All of the gifts are due back about a week before Christmas.

About a week prior to the due date, the coordinator needs to contact people with a friendly reminder if they have not brought back an item. Finally, we either deliver the gifts to the home or to a central collection point.

Since this is basically a volunteer-run program, there are many different ways a Bethel member can get involved. Volunteers are needed to decorate the tree and create gift tags. They can also volunteer to purchase, wrap, and deliver gifts.

As a seasonal project, it takes approximately 8-10 hours of work in November and approximately 15-20 hours of time in December.

Contact: Mara Schleicher

Soda Tab Collection

Jean Fontana collects tabs from soft drink cans, soup, juice, etc. They are then sent to the Ronald McDonald House or to the Shriners Home to help pay for families to stay there while their child is/children are in the hospital.

Jean’s comments: “It is such a worthwhile cause and doesn't take a lot of effort. The best responses come from businesses or schools, etc. where a drink machine is located.”

The jar is in the sunroom on the counter.

For further information:

Jean Fontana

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