5 Service Projects, One Farmington Hills Church

Members of Antioch Lutheran Church in Farmington Hills will join 4 million members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in a special day of service Sept. 8, commemorating the ELCA’s 25th anniversary.

Under the banner “God’s work. Our hands” the church will highlight these five service projects: 

• Serving seniors at St. Patrick’s Senior Center. Antioch members will be serving lunch at the Detroit center on Sept. 7. St. Patrick’s offers a range of services to seniors, and provides meals to some 200 individuals on a daily basis.

• Building a partition at South Oakland Shelter. Antioch members will be working at this Lathrup Village-based homeless shelter to build a partition in their welcome/vestibule area, to separate donation storage from the area where clients and volunteers are welcomed. Antioch volunteers will also help sort donations and provide clients with resume writing and interview skills assistance.

• Bringing Comfort. Antioch members are collecting donated teddy bears, which they will distribute to community members who are in poor health or otherwise are in need of a “bear hug” as a reminder of God’s love.

• Providing warmth. Participants in Antioch’s Quilting Ministry will be teaching other members how to put together quilts and receiving blankets. These items are then distributed through Lutheran Social Services or donated to the Navajo Lutheran Mission in Arizona.

• Preparing pre-schoolers for Head Start. Antioch joins Bethlehem Lutheran, Hope Lutheran and St. John Lutheran to give each of the 111 Farmington Head Start students a backpack filled with a complete set of school supplies.