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Mid-North Food Pantry

Bethlehem supports a food pantry at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church which provides emergency food supplies to the needy in their neighborhood. Bethlehem members support the pantry through food and monetary gifts.

The Sharing Place

The Sharing Place provides free food and clothing to families in need. The Sharing Place sponsors a back-to-school program for needy children in August and a Christmas assistance program in December. Members can help through donations of cash and gifts of nonperishable food, gently used clothing of all sizes, new underwear and socks for men, women, and children, household items, and baby clothing. They can also volunteer to help distribute food, sort and price clothing donations, stock the pantry, etc.

Ecoministry

An interest group within the congregation meets every month or so to study and discuss how to help the congregation and its members improve our relationship with the natural environment.

Quilters

This Bethlehem group meets on Thursday mornings to sew quilts and school bags for Lutheran World Relief to distribute. As one of the quilters has written, "The quilts we make are all sent away, but the friendships we make are here to stay."

Sovietsk Orphanage

Bethlehem has a special relationship with an orphanage in Sovietsk, Russia. Many of the children at the orphanage are sponsored by members of Bethlehem. We have a special relationship with them through the agency of Children's Hopechest in Pueblo, Colorado. More about the project can be found in Ben and Sarah's blog.

Lutherwood

Bethlehem members have a special concern for and a long-standing relationship with Lutherwood, a residential treatment center in Indianapolis for children who are recovering from the effects of abuse, neglect, and/or abandonment. Although it is a largely government-funded agency, the Lutheran community of Indianapolis provide the home and its residents with much-needed love, attention, and ministry.

CROP Walk

Each year a team from Bethlehem participates in CROP Walk, an event organized by Church World Service to raise money to help fight hunger, both worldwide and locally.

Community Housing Fix-Up Projects

Once or twice a year, Bethlehem members pitch in to clean up and fix up neighborhood homes and property for the needy.

Great Chicken Round-Up

Christmastime brings a special opportunity for Bethlehem members to contribute to the city's food pantries. Many boxes of canned and packaged goods, as well as fresh chickens, are purchased and assembled (during the hour between services) for delivery to an inner-city service center.

Campus Ministry at Butler & IUPUI

With the Indiana-Kentucky Synod of the ELCA and the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis, we support a campus minister at these campuses, "Grace Unlimited."

Meridian-Kessler Neighborhood Association

Bethlehem is very much involved in the life of its northside urban neighborhood. The church building is the home of the Meridian-Kessler Neighborhood Association (MKNA), which has its office in our facility. Visit the MKNA website for news of the neighborhood.