Outreach ministry is in the core of LCR’s DNA. We believe that God has called us to extend Christian compassion and service to our neighbors both here and abroad. We follow Christ’s lead to provide support to those in need within our local, regional and international communities.
We believe that God has also given you gifts for outreach ministry and we invite you to share your volunteer service, in-kind gifts, and financial donations in support of God’s work through LCR’s Outreach Ministries.
General Contact for Outreach ministries: George O’Donnell, Lance Reising.
Local Programs
Habitat for Humanity
LCR is part of the Lutheran Coalition for Habitat. Annually we contribute time and talents to build new homes for deserving Cobb County families. Builds take place March – May.
Contact: John Osberg
Meals on Wheels
Every Monday morning, LCR volunteers deliver Meals on Wheels to low-income and/or limited mobility seniors in the Sandy Springs area. We currently have a small route that takes about an hour to complete. Our volunteers usually sign up to deliver between 3 -10 times a year. This outreach ministry may not seem significant, but we are an important part of a much larger volunteer program that provides over 50,000 daily nutritious meals a year to those elderly folks who can’t cook for themselves.
Contact: Ron Jolly
MUST Ministries
Ministries United in Service and Training (MUST) is a faith-based organization dedicated to providing services to people in crisis while maintaining their dignity. MUST offers emergency shelter, transitional housing, meals, groceries, clothing, job readiness and placement, substance abuse counseling, financial assistance, children’s programs, community support groups, access to free health care, and affordable housing.
Contact: Dana Jelinek, Heather Boyer
MUST Meals
LCR is on the rotation to prepare and serve meals monthly at the Elizabeth Inn. We collect dry food all year long to keep the food pantry at MUST well stocked. We also work with Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church to provide a Sunday lunch several times a year.
LCR Blanketeers/Knitters for Peace
Project Linus is a non-profit organization that distributes handmade blankets to seriously ill or traumatized children in hospitals, shelters or social service agencies. These blankets provide a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children otherwise tumultuous circumstances. Supply drives and blanket tying gatherings are held throughout the year, and annually we bless the blankets before sending them out into service!
Contact: Marge Mynhier/Lyn Ruswinkle
Promise Garden
LCR’s community garden impacts so many parts of our community! From the preschoolers who learn about growth and food, to the special needs adults with Circle of Friends who gain confidence and all the volunteers who plant, weed, and care for our garden. The produce is donated to the Sandy Springs Community Assistance Center’s Food Pantry.
Contact: Margaret Perry
Special Needs Cobb
LCR prepares and delivers stockings to adults with developmental disabilities in group homes located in Cobb in December. This stocking is often the only gift the residents of the homes receive. A smaller delivery is also done in the summer.
YELLS
Youth Empowerment through Learning, Leading, and Serving, Inc. (YELLS) empowers youth to rise as active, healthy, and productive servant-leaders within their communities. LCR supports the work of this organization on Franklin Gateway.
Contact: George O’Donnell, Richard Leon
Regional Programs
Lutheran Church of the Resurrection is proud to partner with Inspiritus – a regional, non-profit human services agency supported by Lutheran congregations, government agencies and the States of Georgia and Tennessee. The organization offers programs for adoptions, disaster response, employment services, family and children services, foster care and refugee resettlement. LCR has a long history of working with Inspiritus to welcome and settle refugees, we support the work of Inspiritus among local refugee communities, and we actively participate in the annual Hunger Walk.
Contact: Mark Olsen
Lutheran Campus Ministry – Grace House
Members of LCR support the work of Grace House, this Lutheran-Episcopal Campus Ministry on the campus of Georgia Tech. Grace Coffee House provides students with an opportunity for friendship, direction, an authentic community, service, and a home away from home. Their primary work is to give students hope with the warm welcome of Christ and a cup of coffee.
Contact: Allison Lizdas
International Programs
Guatemala
Iglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala (ILAG)
ILAG is a national Lutheran synod in Guatemala that includes 19 congregations in primarily rural regions throughout the country. People from LCR have been in contact with ILAG since 2004 and over 40 people from LCR have visited Guatemala in that time. In 2019 LCR entered into a formal partnership with Santísima Trinidad Lutheran Church located in Guatemala City, and with the MILAGRO Women’s Education Center also located in Guatemala City. You can learn more about ILAG via their website >>
We walk together as partners in ministry. LCR has a Guatemala Partnership Team that is responsible for maintaining our relationship with regular prayer and communication. This team also works to involve the congregation in the partnership in meaningful ways. We also coordinate a yearly trip to Guatemala to visit our partners at Santísima Trinidad and the MILAGRO Women’s Education Center.
Contact: Suzanne Demosthenes
Santísima Trinidad
Santísima Trinidad is a Guatemalan church located within the Lutheran Center in Guatemala City. This congregation is primarily made up of the leaders of the national church and the MILAGRO Women’s Center. They often host delegations of visitors from congregations in the United States coming to join in ILAG’s work.
MILAGRO Women’s Education Center
The MILAGRO Women’s Education Center is a boarding school that allows rural Mayan women to complete their education while providing them technical training and women’s empowerment. This video, produced by the ELCA World Hunger program, is a great introduction to the MILAGRO Women’s Education Center.
