SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA SYNOD | ELCA
Resources for effective church leaders
+ April 24, 2020
Good News -- #SEPAStepsUp
In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, SEPA congregations are stepping up to continue or create ministries to serve their neighbors. Here are a couple of these stories.

What is your congregation doing to serve in this time? Send your information, stories and/or photos to Bob Fisher and we will publish them next week.
Faith Immanuel Church in East Lansdowne received and distributed 1,200 meals provided by the Pennsylvania National Guard. Youth and adults also distributed bottled water to senior citizens in the community. 
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Wallingford set up a weekly collection of non-perishable food and household products for Chester Eastside Ministries. They have a free food program for clients to "shop" for necessities. The church set up a sign and boxes every Sunday from 10am-2pm on the church steps. Church and community members drop off items and then a church member delivers the items to Chester Eastside. The response has been terrific for the last 4 weeks and they plan to continue at least until the state reopens again.
Join in the outreach of The Welcome Church and The Well (a shelter for women).

The Well is in need of items including laundry detergent (liquid or pods), hand sanitizer, personal hygiene items, juice, bread, sugar, and masks. The items can be dropped off or shipped to Pastor Schaunel Steinnagel. Email rvschaunel@aol.com to coordinate delivery.

Welcome Church is collecting hygiene kits for Philadelphia’s Homeless Outreach. They usually include soap, hand sanitizer, shampoo and/or other personal care products, a towel and/or washcloth. Optional items include a packaged, shelf-stable snack and/or a $5 Wawa gift card. For information about how to help contact Lou Farrell at lou.farrell@gmail.com
Food Ministry Listing
We are launching a web page with listings for church food ministry sites in the synod. If your congregation hosts a food pantry or meal program open to the public, or partners in a community site, please reply to this message with the following information:

Name of the ministry and church

Address

Days and hours of operation

Days and hours for receiving donations (if different)

Contact phone number and/or email

Who should we contact for further information?
Help Us Improve Communications
In order to better target important messages such as this one, please help us complete our records of your congregation's officers and key leaders.

Please reply to this email with the following information:

Name, email, and phone number of these leaders:

Council President and VP

Treasurer

Main communications contact

Hunger ministry leader

Also please add the email for your church office. Thank you for your help.
Living and Leading from the Spiritual Heart in a Time of Heightened Anxiety
A free virtual retreat for clergy, May 3-4 on Zoom. Hosted by Shalem Institute. 
For clergy, COVID-19 has shifted the very fabric of our personal and pastoral lives. In such anxious and demanding times, we need to slow down and drink deeply from the well of Living Water within, which is the very presence of the Holy One. Here, we will find our spiritual center grounded in the Great Love that will renew us and form us to do the work we have been given to do with a spirit of love and compassion. Led by The Reverend Lisa Senuta and The Reverend Winston B. Charles 

Southeastern PA Synod, ELCA
Thank you
for taking the time to read this edition of MinistryLink.  Tell fellow church members and colleagues to subscribe by clicking here.

The Rev. Bob Fisher, assistant to the bishop for mission interpretation/communications
rfisher@sepa.org  / 267.323.3743