Food For The Poor Connects Lutheran Parishes to Guatemala
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Worshippers at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, Mo., joined together to purchase this truck to serve the poor in Guatemala. | |
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (April 10, 2013) – Selling homemade chicken potpies, and handmade scarves and pottery, worshippers at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, Mo., showed how $10 investments could be multiplied to purchase a truck to serve the poor in Guatemala. Lutheran students supported the effort and raised more than $1,000 by paying to dress casually, leaving their uniforms at home.
“Pastor Chan now has a means of reaching people in remote villages, distributing items from Food For The Poor to those who need it the most,” said Pastor Paul Short, of St. Andrew Lutheran Church. The Rev. Ignacio Chan, President of the Lutheran Council of Guatemala, is one of Food For The Poor’s in-country partners.
Pastor Short and two congregational leaders will travel with Food For The Poor and members of the Lutheran Coalition to Guatemala April 22-26 to learn how groups like the St. Andrew Mission Team can have a positive impact in developing countries.
“While there, I intend to look closely at opportunities for the St. Andrew congregation to provide more assistance to the people in Guatemala,” said Pastor Short.
The group also will journey to Pacomon in Salcaja, Guatemala, to inaugurate the school that the Lutheran Coalition raised money to build in less than a year. Construction of the three-classroom school was supervised by Rev. Chan.
Travelers include Pastor Gary Bauch (Hilton, N.Y.), David Broughton (Tucson, Ariz.), Robert and Joanne Erlbacher (Cape Girardeau, Mo.), Nadeen Jahn (Tucson, Ariz.), George La Mont (Brockport, N.Y.), Keith Less (Galena, Md.), Bryn Mulholland (Hamlin, N.Y.), Cheryl Romano (Rochester, N.Y.), Pastor Paul Short Jr. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.), Jeffrey Skopak (Tucson, Ariz.), and Kevin Wackett (Delmar, Md.).
The Lutheran Coalition is currently raising money to provide the community of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, with access to clean, safe drinking water. Donations to Hope For Guatemala are accepted at www.FoodForThePoor.org/esperanza.
Members of the Lutheran Coalition include Pastor John Vaughn of St. Paul Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Prior Lake, Minn.; Pastor Jeffery Skopak of Fountain of Life Lutheran Church and School (LCMS) in Tucson, Ariz.; Pastor Gary Bauch of St. John Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Hamlin, N.Y.; Pastor Kevin Wackett of Bethany Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Salisbury, Md.; Pastor David Winter of St. John Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Norwood Young America, Minn.; and Pastor Paul “Joe” Conner of Lamb of God Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Haines City, Fla.
To learn how your congregation can join the Lutheran Coalition’s mission, please contact Jayne Cunningham by calling 1-877-654-2960, ext. 6803 or emailing [email protected].
Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
[email protected]