Christ Lutheran is a very generous congregation (in case you didn’t know). Our Benevolence  Committee gives away at least 12% of every dollar given to the  church. In addition, we raise more money for the CROP Hunger walk than  almost any other group in the nation. McClintock Partners In Education  (McPIE) is celebrating 15 years of partnership with McClintock Middle School in April. Watch for a special newsletter and celebration in worship on  Sunday April 3. But there are many opportunities in our city and world and much that we can pray about and get involved in making a difference… If  you are involved in a ministry that you would like to share, please get in  touch with me. Maybe others from CLC would like to join you. If you are  interested in refugee resettlement, consider that it might be a year or more before we see any Ukrainian refugees but:  

Charlotte has quite a number of new Afghan refugee neighbors and they only get official support for90 days after they are settled here. Would you like to help them after this 90 days with our local resettlement agencies? We need the Church now more than ever to step in and walk alongside an Afghan family now that their 90-day time with their resettlement agency has come or is coming to an end. FOR Charlotte is organizing groups to mentor these families. Maybe Christ Lutheran can step up and support a family new to our community. Contact me at 704-560-3097 or adaniels@christelca.org and let’s see what happens.

• In collaboration with The Independence Fund, we have created a Mentorship Program which will pair a group of interested volunteers in meeting some of the real needs of our Afghan neighbors. Some of the things you will be asked to help with are:

1. Transportation to grocery store and/or doctor’s appointment
2. Assistance in opening & learning about needed & junk mail
3. One-on-one training with an Afghan woman to learn how to use appliances, laundry, stove, microwave, etc.
4. And other cultural adaptation needs, based on each family’s needs

If you would like to get a better understanding of the program, please check out this info & FAQ sheet, HERE

If you are  interested in the affordable housing crisis with some of our most vulnerable  neighbors, consider getting involved with ACTION NC:  

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Court Watch - 

We need as many volunteers as possible for court watch. Volunteers would be asked to attend various eviction proceedings Monday thru Friday from 9:00am until about 1pm. These volunteers would listen to rulings and obtain data that will be used to analyze the effects of evictions among other information. Volunteers may interact with a tenant and will need to attend training to become a housing advocate. 

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Hotline - 

Action NC/TORC utilizes a dial-in number that is provided to tenants by referrals from partnering agencies and organizations. In addition, Jessica and I canvas communities and provide the hotline number as an initial contact. Volunteers would be expected to answer our hotline, using our OOMA App, and conduct and intake the tenant’s issue and/or provide a resource. Training and recurring attending Know Your Workshops is mandatory to join the hotline volunteer team.

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Phone banking - 

We often generate lists of tenant contacts that we would like to invite to an action, meeting or organizing effort. Volunteers would use our phone banking system to make outbound calls to provide information to tenants we have already made some sort of contact with. On Tuesdays from 4pm to 7pm, volunteers across the country join a Zoom call to discuss any call challenges and provide housing updates and resources while simultaneously making calls to the contacts. Scripts are provided to help withcall flow, and training is offered each Tuesday 4pm to 5pm. 

Again, call, text or email me to hopefully find some like-hearted folks!