We continue to learn new ways to imagine and discern our mission in a changing cultural context. We try to listen to our neighbors and look for opportunities to love them and join the ways God is already at work in our community. There are many ways to get involved and something new is always brewing!
For most current volunteer opportunities and in-kind donations, visit our get involved page.
We continued to learn new ways to imagine and discern our mission in a changing cultural context. This year we listened to our neighbors on several occasions and looked for opportunities to love them and to join the ways God is already at work in our community. These conversations led to several new ministries which will be outlined below. At the end of 2024, we realized that we will likely have more opportunities moving forward than we will be able to pursue. As a result, we established the following objectives to guide our decision making and evaluate our effectiveness: 1) love our neighbors well, 2) develop relationships in the community, 3) provide opportunities for the congregation to get involved, and 4) share our story with the congregation and the community. As we reflect upon 2025, we feel we did well with the first two objectives and would like to do better with the last two objectives. Below are some of the ministries, old and new, that we engaged in last year. New ministries are designated with an asterisk.
*Laundry Day: We sponsor Laundry Day at Globe Laundry on the first Monday of every month to our neighbors experiencing homelessness. We provide quarters, laundry suppliesWe sat down with several guests of the warming shelter and learned that they do not have access to laundry, showers or bus tokens during the seven months the shelter is closed. As a result, we began “Laundry Day”, a monthly ministry at Globe Laundry to address those needs. We served about 8 people each month.
*Community Meal at Lighthouse Recovery Community Center (LRCC): Wonderful things are happening here! We are grateful we can support the recovery community by providing a community meal at LRCC the 2nd Tuesday of every month for approximately 60 people.
Friday Lunches: We serve lunch to our neighbors experiencing homelessness every Friday from April through November while the warming shelter is closed. Each week we have about 10 guests and 5 or 6 volunteers who sit down to eat together and have conversation. We strive to provide more than a hot meal; we provide community and a space where our neighbors experiencing homelessness are welcomed and seen.
Lighthouse Community Recovery Center Car Wash: LRCC has hosted a carwash in our parking lot for many years. This year we partnered with them during the carwash to host a brat fry for their 25+ volunteers as well as the community at large. We raised almost $350 which we then donated to LRCC. What a fun and high energy day!
Hope House: FLC continues to be actively involved in Hope House by providing weekly wishlist supplies, financial donations and volunteering time. In 2025, we served as a host organization for 7 weeks. At least 11 different volunteers covered these three hour evening shifts plus additional weekend shifts as needed. In total, FLC volunteers spent over 300 hours at Hope House last year. We have a wonderful caring team of volunteers and we’re always open to welcoming additional members. Coordinated by Marlene Beatty
Salvation Army Giving Tree Mission: The “Adopt A Family” Christmas program of the Manitowoc County Salvation Army continued once again under the new name of “Angel Tree”. New this year, recipients this year were limited to children. In 2024, we received 40 names to assist. This year there were 60 names displayed on our tree and they were all adopted very quickly. The “needs” were great, including blankets, sheets, winter coats and boots, socks, underwear and sweatshirts. The “wishes” were those toys and games children dream about. This year more than 80 individuals from First Lutheran participated in this community project. We participated through selecting a name and granting “needs” and “wishes”, making monetary donations, shopping for others, and organizing and packaging all of these gifts. Additionally, many volunteers, including our teens, assisted the Salvation Army by sorting and organizing donated toys for their Toy Shop one evening. This partnership with The Salvation Army continues to be a Christmas tradition for many from First Lutheran as they generously provide hope and gifts for these families. Coordinated by Sandee O’Connell
Salvation Army Food Pantry Donations: Groceries are collected on the first Sunday of the month and brought to the Salvation Army food pantry. We donated over two tons of food in 2025. Coordinated by Harry O’Connell
The Crossing: We supported the Baby Bottle Campaign and raised almost $1000 to stock the pantry at The Crossing with essentials like diapers, wipes, formula, cleaning and hygiene products for families in need.
Narcotics Anonymous: We are glad to welcome a local chapter of N/A to meet in the Fireside Room of our church every Sunday evening.
Sputnikfest: A group from FLC once again served as volunteers for the 5K Run during Sputnikfest in September. What a fun experiment to get out in the community and help with an event that takes place right in our front yard!
*Domestic Violence Awareness Month: We decorated the sanctuary and provided educational material in the bulletins and worship slides in observance of domestic violence awareness month. We also collected diapers which were donated to InCourage, our local domestic violence center.
Members: Stephanie Bowman, Sue Bryntesen, Heather Feah, Patty Greene, Teresa Laham, Patti Fellows, Sandee O’Connell, Jenine Soucoup and Lisa Stricklin. Submitted by Patty Greene.
