To give space for the Food for Kidz team to meet its financial goals, Social Ministry will not be hosting an Advent fundraiser in 2024.

• We anticipate the traditional Angel Tree for Imagine East Mesa School in December.

• Last year, NJLC Sew Journers contributed 30+ quilts for seniors in the Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest Aging and Disability Services program; we will again contribute quilts, blessing them on Sunday, December 8 for delivery shortly thereafter.

• If you are interested in on-your-own holiday giving opportunities, here are a few options:

  • Additional LSS-SW priority items for Christmas 2024 are pots and pans with lids for seniors and children’s toys Christmas 2024 — Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest (lss-sw.org). See the LSS-specific wishlist at Amazon.com (items in the $10-$15 range that can be delivered directly to LSS.)

  • www.ELCA.org/goodgifts: animals, plants, school supplies, and more.

• The draft Social Ministry Calendar is posted on the new bulletin board to the left of the nametag rack.

  • Our next “5th Sunday Letter-Writing” will be in early January (deferred from December 31, 2024, for all the reasons you might imagine).

  • New Journey will participate with our Northeast Valley Consortium partners in the Grand Canyon Synod 40-40-40 Lenten Challenge in March-April 2025.

On October 15, Ascension Lutheran Church Council voted unanimously to fund $12,700 for the 2025 heat respite project. Christ the Lord, Living Water, New Covenant, New Journey, and Ascension will host 13 lunch packs, plus provide water pallets and electrolyte powder to save lives during next summer’s extreme heat season. Praise God!

The ballot is (“uber”) long, but please take time to pray, research, complete the whole 4 pages, and cast your vote on time.

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (www.lamaz.org) has offered a number of links in this eNews space in recent weeks. Here are four short videos – created with the support of New Journey’s Stephen Gallen – that provide hopeful overviews of a few key questions related to elections and voting:

A heartfelt thank you to Brenda, Jane, Liz, and Kris for their incredible generosity in providing meals on October 6, 8, and 10. Your support on behalf of New Journey has been invaluable to the Fountains UMC as we shelter participants of the Family Promise Program who are experiencing episodic homelessness.

The next opportunity to provide support is December 8-14. Your continued involvement is greatly appreciated and truly makes a positive impact on our community.

New Journey will again participate in the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Arizona 9/11 Multi-Faith Food Drive for Extended Hands Food Bank. Any food items you provide to our EHFB bin from August 12 – September 8 will be designated as 9/11 Food Drive contributions. Extended Hands is now serving about 1200 persons a month, an increase of 200 from their prior website postings. Stay alert for top items needed at https://www.ehfb.org/, or check in with our regular volunteers Jo Martinson and Dorothy Schmidt.

Given New Journey’s limited posting or distribution space, we’re using the Red Door to support New Journey’s advocacy efforts. Items posted there are ELCA updates on current issues, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMAz.org) information items, and advance copies of letters for our “5th Sunday Letter Signings.” As Martin Luther noted: “If you want to change the world, pick up a pen and write!”  

Stay tuned for arrival of the “wish list” from Kristin’s Closet at I.E.M. School. We hope to gather and deliver items in time for the start of school on August 1.

Letters are off to Representative Schweikert and Senators Kelly and Sinema, each with fifteen signatures, in support of key provisions of the U.S. Farm Bill as component legislation is now being reconciled in the House and Senate. A copy of the letter is here. Additional ELCA updates on the farm bill are here.

Living Water Lutheran reports that – thanks to NEVC partners, including New Journey – this summer there will be 2,862 books to give to kids in need! Pr. Shari Bernau writes, “You can be sure that these books will provide an opportunity for many children to enjoy a book-break during their hot summer, with special thanks for Sue Brash and Assistance League of Phoenix.” New Journey helped by provided 272 books!

Thanks to New Journeyans for completing two great lunch packs for Grace in the City heat respite! 18 and 20 participants, respectively, prepped 200 lunches each on Mondays June 17 and July 1. Lead partners from Ascension, Christ the Lord, and New Covenant were thankful for seeing the project in action on June 17 as they prepare to host nine Monday lunch packs over the next two months with their congregations.

Join Arizona Faith Network for an afternoon of community service. Together we will pack heat relief bags for community members and cooling centers to hand out to those in need of heat relief. Donations are needed!

Next project? Imagine East Mesa School Supplies! We do not have a wishlist yet, but you can keep your eyes out for great sales!. We'll aim to deliver our contributions to IEM in mid-July.

Did you know that Afghan (and other) refugee women who are part of Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest's women's empowerment program have their own Etsy site where handmade items can be purchased?

More thanks! What a great crew of 20 New Journeyans to launch the 2024 Summer Heat Respite Lunch Pack Series for Grace Lutheran in downtown Phoenix!

Books, books, books: New Journey's gathering of books for Living Water VBS book drive continues through Sunday, June 16. We would love to see those bins fill up! Read more details here.

Advocacy Alert: Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMAz.org) urges us to let our State legislators know that we oppose HCR 2060, which would essentially bring back 2010's SB1070 anti-immigration law that was declared unconstitutional.

Social Ministry Team Meeting: June 30, 11:30 a.m., at church, to plan for the balance of 2024. Anyone is welcome to join.

Be ready! Your NJLC lunch pack team is preparing for the June 17, 9:00 a.m., launch of the 2024 heat respite season. We will be joined by 4-5 observer-guests from Ascension, Christ the Lord, Living Water, and New Covenant so they are prepared for their lunch packs in the coming weeks. All New Journeyans are welcome!!

Books, books, books: New Journey's gathering of books for Living Water VBS book drive continues through Sunday, June 16. We would love to see those bins fill up! Read more details here.

Easter Project Wrap-Up: In the spirit of 1 Peter 4:10, many thanks to New Journey friends for $465 to support farm animals, water filters, cooking stoves, and mosquito netting through ELCA World Hunger ministries around the world. And, likewise, much gratitude for $760 in designated and undesignated gifts, plus a 20-pound bag of rice, for "Casa M" asylum shelter in Nogales.