Church guide

In honor of Mother’s Day, please bring in diapers for Helping Hands to church on Sunday! Thank you so much for helping our neighbors in this ministry of love, and happy Mother’s Day! 🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷

Just 3 weeks until Easter! Sunday, 3/31/19: join us in Bethlehem Hall for 10 AM Worship and remembering FELC history.

Lenten Reflections: Songs, Soup, Soul time Wed. March 20, 6:00-7:30 in Bethlehem Hall (lower level) of FELC. It's the second-of-five! Topic for 3/20: Getting more through Giving; Caring for our neighbors is life-giving!

As the sun goes down SPRiNG your clock forward😄

March 10 = Helping Hands Sunday All are welcome to lend a hand after Worship, Bethlehem Hall.

7 PM Ash Wednesday service this evening with communion- All are welcome.

Please join us this Sunday, March 3, after worship at 11:30 in the parking lot for the Kids & Family Kick off to the season of Lent. Just a hint... there will be FIRE involved! We are also hoping to include the Kids & Family group during the 5 Lenten Soup Supper Wednesday evenings with crafting, reading, and discussion on the curious faith practices of Lent and Easter. (What’s going on with those ashes, anyway?) “Lost and Found: Join the Feast”, as we begin one of the most sacred seasons of our holy calendar. There’s room for all at the table! See you Sunday, March 3!

HELP! We’ve had a few people step up and answer the call to deliver groceries from the Food Bank to Helping Hands Food Pantry— but we need more help! The job entails picking up food at the Great Falls Food Bank and unloading it at Helping Hands food pantry, ONLY ONE DAY A MONTH! It usually takes about TWO HOURS, and enables us to feed the over 10,000 hungry neighbors we fed last year. All that is needed is a pickup truck or similar rig, a team of able-bodied helpers, and a heart willing to serve. We currently have only two teams. We really need at least four. Will you please consider this volunteer opportunity? Helping Hands has never been needed more than right now, and your willingness to help enables us to put food on the tables of so many neighbors in need. The Food Bank is open Monday-Friday, 7-2. Helping Hands is open Monday-Thursday, 1-3. Whatever hours work for you, we will work around. THANK YOU for considering this opportunity to serve!

🙏Helping Hands Appeal for Blankets and Warm Clothing: The neighbors coming here for help need blankets and warm clothing, and we keep running out - demand is far beyond what we are receiving. Could you please look in your closets for anything warm, and bring to the barrel in the Narthex on Sunday? It will be most gratefully received. Today we gave away more than 20 hand-crocheted/knitted hats. Needing more blankets, hats, gloves, coats - sweatshirts, hoodies,etc. Especially men's and boys' sizes. Thank you for your generosity! Update to those bringing donations: please do NOT leave donations outside under any circumstances. If our hours are not convenient, please call to arrange a time to drop off. We'll gladly work something out to make it convenient for you❤️

Hello friends and neighbors! Helping Hands has been feeding record numbers of clients. We are gearing up to provide for the needs of the community during an uncertain time for those receiving government food benefits. Two of our main “food gatherers” are stepping down, and we really need a few volunteers willing to pitch in and help. The job entails going to the Great Falls Food Bank (you can pretty much pick your times—they are open Monday through Friday from 7 am-2 pm) loading up our food, and bringing it to First English. Having a pickup truck (or large vehicle) is a plus, and the physical ability to load and unload boxes of food is a requirement. We do only four food pick ups a month and have one covered right now, so even if you did one a month it would be a huge help! We are covered for pick up next week, (the week of January 21), but need help beginning the following week. Please consider lending a hand to Helping Hands? There are many—sometimes up to 1000 a month—who count on our services. Thank you!

🙌Awesome! Today Helping Hands served groceries to 26 families (88 people, including 39 kids). Yesterday we served 24 families (77 people, including 36 kids.) Thank you to all our hard working volunteers, and thanks to the neighbors themselves, who patiently waited in long lines for what they needed!

Thank you to all who stayed to help prepare Helping Hands for this new year of service to our neighbors! You did a great job👏

👐All hands on deck for Helping Hands - After Worship this Sunday, Helping Hands will continue our 2nd-Sunday-of-the-month "God's Work - Our Hands" activities in Bethlehem Hall. Lots of ways to pitch in and prepare items for our neighbors, from folding donated clothing to sorting/doubling grocery bags. All done with fellowship and coffee - please join us!

Christmas Eve Worship Is At 5:30 PM! Save the date!

Don’t forget...Christmas Crafts, Cocoa, and Caroling today! Come make a Christmas craft about the ‘Light of the World’ and then help share some Christmas cheer with our homebound friends! It’s a FELC tradition not to be missed—for the young and young at heart! Antlers and/or Santa hats welcome, but not required! See you in Bethlehem Hall at 4:00!

A heartfelt thank you to all who made it possible for Helping Hands to meet goal again this year - And thank you to Town Pump Charitable Foundation for matching funds!!! What a difference this makes for our ability to serve our community!❤️

Correction: TODAY, Nov. 18th, is Commitment Sunday. Bishop Crist will be leading our Worship as we prayerfully consider our setting apart a portion of the gifts of time, talent and treasure that God has blessed us with. Please be sure to join us at 10 AM as we faithfully plan for our part in God's work at First English for 2019. Potluck follows! Also, you are invited to help in the evening as our Thanksgiving Turkey Baskets are packed for distribution to 100 neighbors.

BREAKING NEWS FOR FRIENDS OF HELPING HANDS! We just found out TODAY that Town Pump, who has been SO generous to Helping Hands in the past, has graciously offered to DOUBLE THE AMOUNT of their matching grant this year to $5,000! In other words, Helping Hands could receive a total of $10,000 if we are able to raise $5,000 on our own. The good news: we've already raised $2,500- we are HALFWAY!!! However, to qualify for Town Pump's matching grant, we must raise another $2,500 by November 30. That’s just a few short weeks away! PLEASE, share this information with anyone you know who is looking for a local, compassion-driven, and spirit-led organization for their tax-deductible year-end giving. Donations are quickly translated into food—and to the hungry, food is love. Thank you for your generous hearts, and for always supporting this important ministry of First English Lutheran Church!