Hunger Walk Coming March 10

Longtime LCR member Mike Frey describes the annual Hunger Walk like this: “You go down there, and the energy and the people of all different faiths and you walk with someone of a different faith than Lutheran. It is unique and all the faiths come together.” The shared faith and the growing need to feed the hungry keep Mike returning to a passion project he has devoted more than 30 years to serving.

It started when he and Gloria moved to Atlanta in 1989. New to the city, with a new job and a new baby, he said they “didn’t have a lot of money, but they could pay the bills.” He wanted to get involved in something that he could do with his kids, and he read about the food bank “If you don’t have food, your life becomes consumed with that next meal. Nothing else in life matters. No time for others. No time for your faith. We take basic necessities of life for granted.”

This is an organization that would like to go out of business but won’t. Last summer, the Atlanta Community Food Bank opened a new center in Cobb County, expecting to serve 700 families a week. In Georgia, 1 in 9 people are food insecure, but it hits children the hardest. 1 in 8 children go hungry. The need grows, but Mike says the commitment of those serving at the food bank is unwavering. As for the Hunger Walk, he says, “it’s a fun family outing with a purpose. You want to connect them to something bigger than them. Get your kids involved.”

“If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” (Isaiah 58:10)

Feel the faith on Sunday, March 10th in downtown Atlanta or in the parking lot at LCR for this year’s Hunger Walk.

The walk at LCR will start with a light lunch at 12:30 pm, and the walk event will start from the church parking lot at 1:00 pm. The route is about 1 mile, and people will walk it once or twice. Music, food and drinks will be available.

The walk at Mercedes Benz stadium starts at 2:00 pm. Join team LCR or donate.

Men’s Retreat attended by more than 40 men from six churches!

Over 40 men experienced a wonderful retreat opportunity at Lutheranch in Tallapoosa, Georgia over the weekend of February 2-4. The weekend featured individual faith stories and a panel discussion. The focus of the of the talks was how to live our lives to reflect the humility of Jesus through acts of servanthood with the title, “Movin’ on Down the Kingdom Road, A Joyful Journey.”

Men from six different churches attended. Folks from Marietta, Decatur, Clarkston, and Spring Hill, Tennessee were all part of the retreat community. Conversations were rich and inspirational. There was ample time for reflection and fun.

Lenten Series

Meet Our First Lenten Speaker: Rev. John Moeller

Inspiritus is one of LCR’s mission partners and is focused on guiding individuals and families who have experienced disruption on a path from surviving to thriving. This work takes the form of refugee resettlement, social services, disaster response, and more.

Rev. John Moeller has been the CEO of Inspiritus since 2017. Before joining Inspiritus, he served as the CEO of Action Ministries in Atlanta. Rev. Moeller is ordained as a minister in the United Methodist Church.


More info on our Lenten Dinner and Speaker Series:
Enjoy a home cooked meal, rich conversation, and a chance to hear from some of our mission partners about the life-changing work they are involved with that we support as a congregation. Then stay for a special Lenten Worship service. Dinner will be served starting at 6:00 pm, speakers will begin at 6:30 pm. Worship is at 7:00 pm.

Feb. 21 – John Moeller, Inspiritus

Feb. 28 – Larry Leonard, Our Hands Outreach

Mar. 6 – Richie Jarrett, MUST Ministries

Mar. 13 – Pastor Karen Castillo, President & Diego Gill, Delegation Coordinator, Lutheran Church in Guatemala (via Zoom)

Mar. 20 – Laura Keefe, YELLS

Promise Garden Receives $1500 Grant

The Promise Gardeners met last Saturday to kick off their 2024 season, planting 450 onions bulbs and celebrating a $1500 grant from the Food Well Alliance for garden improvements!

Food Well Alliance is a collaborative network of local leaders working together to build thriving community gardens and urban farms across metro Atlanta providing resources and support to local growers to connect and build healthier communities.

Anyone interested in participating in the garden, whether as a regular gardener or an occasional helper is invited to attend our meeting. If you cannot attend, but would like to get involved, please contact Margaret Perry.

The new season holds great promise!

A Growing Partnership with Brumby Elementary

by Stephen Goodnough

Some years ago, Pastor Stephen suggested we try and connect with Brumby Elementary. I had some free time and took it upon myself to do just that.

I connected with Charlene Briscoe. She was in charge of the food pantry Brumby Elementary started to help families with students at the school. LCR’s support came in the form of monetary donations that would help offset some of the items they had to purchase.

Then we got connected with Sandra Lake who had been our main contact at the school for a few years. On a couple occasions, Hattie, Charlie, and I have delivered monetary donations and other items to help them with Christmas events, Teacher appreciation week, and other things that budgets just don’t quite cover.

Last year’s Electronics Recycling event afforded us one of those occasions and we are looking forward to sharing more this year through the 2024 Electronics Recycling event happening on February 24 (share the event on Facebook).

The Brumby folks are always so appreciative of the grace LCR extends to them. Thank you for all the support. Let’s keep it going as we spread the word about the Electronics Recycling event on February 24 that will benefit Brumby.