Let Your Light SHINE!
/This spring, Epiphany Lutheran Church, participated in the LCMS Missouri District’s second annual SHINE! service event, by providing raised garden beds to 4 CFNA immigrant and refugee families. The idea for this service project came from one of our older youth, Elise Zeigler, who is an active volunteer at CFNA and employs immigrant and refugee youth, through her business, Selah.
Because of the multi-step nature of this process, we were able to engage 27 Epiphany volunteers, of all ages, and 3 friends of Epiphany. Planning and preparation took place over the course of 10 weeks, with 5 specific work days to implement the project. Volunteers provided event planning and organization, procurement of materials, garden bed preparation (cutting wood, etc.), garden bed painting and decorating, and of course, assembly and installation. Gary and Pastor Stanish, from CFNA, provided communication with the families and also helped with the installation of the boxes.
One volunteer summed up the project this way - “384 screws, 233 man hours, 170 bags of dirt, 106 pieces of wood, 34 plants, 21 bags of mulch, 9 garden beds, 5 work days, 4 New American families served, 3 packages of seeds, all to the glory of our 1 God.”
By Britney Hawk
Epiphany Outreach Chair
