Outreach Activities
These are ministries to which Lynnewood has an annual commitment of support. Examples include:
Our goal is to offer one or two trips each year to address a specific need. During 2008, this included a work week at Elverta United Methodist Church (near Sacramento). Our volunteers did maintenance on this small rural church. In 2006, 2007 and 2008, we sent teams to New Orleans to assist with recovery projects associated with Hurricane Katrina. Our teams worked to repair homes for people who could not afford to do it themselves and also donated relief supplies to the local community. Also during 2007, Lynnewood jointly sponsored a team that went to Guatemala for medical care and construction at a medical clinic serving the indigenous Mayan people. To prove that Lynnewood's Outreach has a long reach, in 2008, we sent a team to work on a High School in Tonga! In spring 2009, we sent a team to Galveston to work on recovery efforts from the devastation of Hurricane Ike, and returned in October 2009 with another team. In August 2009, we took a break from construction and sent a team to Seward and Moose Pass, Alaska, to provide a week-long Vacation Bible School for the two towns. We returned to the New Orleans area in spring 2010 to continue Katrina recovery work. In February and August 2010, we sent a team to the UMCOR West Depot in Salt Lake City, where we processed thousands of kits sent by churches all over the country for eventual distribution to areas needing emergency relief. In November 2010, we sent a team to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to work on houses devastated by the flood of 2008.
At Christmas time a tree in our Narthex is stocked with gift needs for families, disabled, children and youth who might not receive Christmas presents otherwise. We collect names and needs from various agencies. Members of our church then fill the need and teams of volunteers deliver the gifts.
At least once per year Lynnewood sponsors a food drive for the Alameda County Food Bank or other local agency. The Food Bank provides food assistance to 120,000 people each month through 300 community organizations.
Heifer International has helped more than one million impoverished families around the world become more self-reliant through the gift of livestock and training in its care. Heifer International provides food- and income-producing animals, as well as training in animal husbandry, in ecologically sound, sustainable farming, and in community development.
Started in 2005, Ministries of the Heart is annual season of personal outreach emphasis. Each member of our church is encouraged to participate in an outreach of their own choosing. Some in the congregation pursue personal initiatives, as an individual or family. It is an opportunity to engage in a need that means a great deal to them. Others join in group projects…workdays, fund drives, collection efforts and such. The kickoff is usually in May at a special worship service. We celebrate our ministries in September at worship and with a Ministries Fair.
Each year the youth of our church, and invited friends, participate in the Sierra Service Project. Known as SSP, this is a weeklong trip to work on homes at Native American reservations. Locations vary from year to year, but generally include Oregon, Nevada and California. The kids work during the year to raise money to pay for the trip. Adults volunteer as trip counselors. The 2009 trip was in July at Indian Valley, California.