Shepherd's Hand
The Shepherd’s Hand Ministry at Mt. Zion has provided year-round support to its neighbors in need in Shenandoah and Rockingham counties for several years. At Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, we provided complete meals including whole chickens to each child at Roberta Webb Day Care and to other needy families. Backpacks, school supplies, and clothing (from underwear to jackets) were purchased in the fall for a number of children. More than 50 coats were donated to a local homeless shelter this winter. Christmas gifts were given to 53 children and 7 adults in addition to the Christmas toys that were purchased for the children of numerous homeless families. We continue to provide gift cards for gasoline and fast food chains, especially to people who are job-hunting or to those with ill family members that must attend treatments at UVa or other distant health facilities. We have helped a number of families with housing moves and have provided furniture and appliances (both new and used) on numerous occasions. This past winter 100+ loads of firewood were cut and delivered to neighbors who depend on wood as their source of heat. Each month, we provide groceries from the church’s pantry, help with electric bills, car repairs, or whatever else is most needed.
This ministry is only accomplished through the contributions and periodic fundraising efforts of Mt. Zion Lutheran Church members. The proceeds from this Golf Tournament will be used to continue the efforts of the Shepherd’s Hand Ministry.
Luke's Backpacks
Last year, Shenandoah Valley Lutheran Ministries, Inc. joined forces with Shenandoah County Public Schools to provide weekend meals to hungry children in our school system. The program is based on the number of children who are currently enrolled in the school system’s free or reduced breakfast and lunch programs. Over forty percent of students enrolled in SCPS are eligible for these programs. A “Luke’s Backpack” is filled with meals and snacks for qualifying children to take home on Friday afternoon. Each backpack contains single serving packages of healthy foods that provide breakfast, lunch and dinner for the child during the weekend. The backpacks are returned to school on Monday morning to be repacked by a host of volunteers for the following weekend. The school system identifies students who are eligible to receive these very special backpacks. Shenandoah Valley Lutheran Ministries, a number of Lutheran Churches throughout the Central Valley Conference and other contributors, businesses and friends are taking part in this mission.
Feeding the hungry has become the number one priority of Shenandoah Valley Lutheran Ministries. It is with great pride that the congregation of Mt. Zion Lutheran Church participates in this worthwhile endeavor.
Sustainable development. Lasting promise.
These four words make up Lutheran World Relief's tagline and represent its core philosophy — of working with people and communities to build better lives and stronger futures.
The Mt. Zion congregation has supported Lutheran World Relief (LWR) for several generations. For the past 20+ years that support has included the making of quilts and donations of personal care kits.
Each winter, an energetic group of Mt. Zion ladies get together weekly to design and create beautiful quilts. The completed quilts are then sent on a periodic basis to LWR for their distribution.
A quote from the LWR website states
“There is, indeed, a transforming moment when a Quilt passes from our hands into another’s, and they embrace it.”
When you make and send a Quilt, you are not only comforting someone you have never met, but providing an object that is useful in ways you probably never imagined.
A long standing tradition at Mt. Zion is for each graduating Senior to choose a quilt as a token of "Godspeed" in beginning their "post-high school" lives.
Personal care kits are purchased and donated by Mt. Zion congregants and sent to LWR for their distribution.
When LWR distributes Personal Care Kits, it’s often to people who have lost everything. In the wake of an earthquake, or having fled from violence as their homes were overtaken, they clasp a towel from a faraway place, with a bar of soap, a toothbrush…and washing up, they know that they have not been forsaken by the world.
The very simple gesture of giving a Personal Care Kit can give someone the encouragement to start anew, starting with a bath. You can share God’s grace and love by providing that simple comfort.