Outreach

"Go in peace. Serve the Lord." Those are the words that send us out every time we worship, and we take those words seriously. Outreach has always been a priority for First Lutheran. Our resources--money, skills, time, tangible goods--go to serve the Lord in a variety of ministries throughout Lincoln and literally, around the globe. Whether it's preparing and serving meals at the Matt Talbott Community Kitchen, gathering food for the Lutheran Food Pantry or clothing for the Peoples City Mission, or providing volunteer labor and contributions to Habitat for Humanity, prison-based ministry, relief for the hungry, community medical clinics, disaster relief or any of the dozens of ministries supported directly by First or through its support of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we strive to put our faith into action in meaningful ways. If you'd like to know more, or have ideas about other ways to serve, please contact us.

Lutheran World Relief's Fair Trade Coffee Project at First

First Lutheran's Social Ministry Committee makes packaged Fair Trade coffee, tea and chocolate available between worship services on the first Sunday of each month. To date, more than 460 pounds of Equal Exchange coffee have been sold at First, at no profit to the church.

Together, Equal Exchange and Lutheran World Relief's Coffee Project channel needed dollars to education, health care and environmentally sustainable farming. Small-scale farmers in Africa, Asia, Central America and South America are guaranteed fair prices for their products, affordable credit and a trustworthy long-term trading partner--and we savor some very fine tea and coffee!

Stop by the Fair Trade table to choose from a wide variety of whole bean and ground coffees. Sample Fair Trade "Divine" chocolate bars. Select a box of premium tea from India or Sri Lanka. In the words of the Lutheran World Relief Coffee Project, "Pour Justice to the Brim!" For more information, see the link below.

Matt Talbot Kitchen

The Matt Talbot Kitchen at 19th and R Streets daily provides two free meals to the homeless or near homeless people of Lincoln. First Lutheran Church provides a noon meal the third Tuesday of each month. The Social Ministry Committee organizes and plans a meal to feed 150 people, but relies on volunteers from the congregation to help prepare the main dishes, provide the fresh fruit, and serve the meal. A sign up sheet for volunteers is posted on the bullletin board on the north wall of the narthex. Please contact Linda Bogenreif at 486-3052 with questions on First Lutheran's involvement. More information on the Kitchen can be found at their website at www.mtkserves.org.

First Lutheran Supports the ONE Campaign

The ONE Campaign is a partner with the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. It is supported by organizations such as the ELCA, Lutheran World Federation, Bread for the World, the World Institute, Save the Children, other churches and humanitarian aid organizations. The campaign addresses the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals to meet the needs of the World's poorest countries by 2015:

  • Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
  • Achieve universal primary education
  • Promote gender equality and empower women
  • Reduce child mortality
  • Improve maternal health
  • Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
  • Ensure environmental sustainability
  • Develop a global partnership for development


First Lutheran Social Ministry encourages the support of the ONE Campaign through educational programming at Adult Forum and by sponsoring advocacy efforts such as offering of letters for Bread for the World. More than one million Americans have signed on as advocates through the ONE campaign.

As a Lutheran, you can support the ONE campaign by going to the ONE LUTHERAN website at www.elca.org/advocacy/one. From this site, you can:

  • Sign the ONE declaration
  • Tell a friend
  • Order a white band to demonstrate your support for the MIllennium Development Goals and The ONE Campaign
  • Join the ELCA's e-advocacy
  • Learn more about The One Campaign


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Tabitha Meals on Wheels

Tabitha Meals on Wheels (MOW) is an ELCA sponsored program which delivers approximately 325 hot, nutritious, noon meals to elderly and disabled homebound Lincoln area residents. Meals are delivered 7 days a week, 365 days a year, enabling people to continue living independently in their own homes. MOW recipients live all over Lincoln, range in age from 4 to 104 and come from a variety of ethnic and economic backgrounds. Clients may be homebound by an ongoing, chronic condition or may just have been dismissed from the hospital; others may have nutritional needs that require a special diet.

Meals on Wheels service extends far beyond delivering meat loaf and scalloped potatoes. Recipients receive a cheerful greeting, friendly chat and a daily safety check. For some people, the Tabitha volunteer may be the only person they see all day! Volunteers have discovered people who have fallen or become seriously ill during the night. Last winter, MOW volunteers rescued a mah from a snow drift behind his garage! Since Tabitha launched the program in 1967, over 3 million meals have been served in its 40 years of service. Each year the demand for meals continues to increase.

MOW volunteers pick up meals prepared by Tabitha Nursing Home's Dietary Department (48th and Randolph) and deliver them to recipient's homes between 11 am and 12:00 pm each day. The average volunteer delivers 8-12 meals over a one-hour period. Most MOW drivers will tell you the experience is as rewarding to them as it is valuable to the meal recipients. It is difficult to finish a route without a smile on your face. Many volunteers take their children or grandchildren with them, to the delight of the homebound clients. First Lutheran Church currently supplies around 30 drivers and substitute drivers who take responsibility for approximately 25 Meals on Wheels routes each month.

All you need is a valid driver's license, a willingness to help your neighbors and about one hour of your time. You may volunteer for a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly route, or deliver on an on-call basis. There are several routes each month that need volunteers. If you would like to become a Tabitha Meals on Wheels volunteer to have additional questions, please contact Sandy Latshaw at 423-7717 or click here to email Sandy or click on the link below for more information.