News

With an overabundance of children's books, the library donated to community organizations (e.g. Goodwill); Concordia joined a Community Book Drive.

Concordia's annual Rally Day picnic kicks off the new Sunday School (and Open Arms Preschool) year, with a lunch/picnic after the 11:00 service plus games and outdoor activities. Observed across multiple years; the 2024 edition was planned by Mr. Tim, Becky Brown, and Jesse Lowery with food help from Susie Marr.

Open Arms Preschool started a new program in which signed-up grandparents 'adopt' individual classrooms and come in to read to the children.

Member John Ziegler joined the CCDC Board as the church representative for Open Arms Preschool.

Open Arms recruited volunteers to "adopt" classrooms and read to children once or twice a month.

The Cullers joined and began assisting with the library reorganization.

All five classrooms were repainted, floors stripped and buffed, plus a larger refrigerator and second check-in iPad added ahead of the school year.

The Concordia youth held a bake sale across the weekend and a car wash after the Sunday 11:00 service, accepting free-will donations. The fundraiser raised $823.50 to fund youth and young adult activities.

Virma Konans and a team reorganized the church library (new shelf built by Tom O'Farrell); excess books were recycled and the collection reopened for browsing with member book requests solicited.

DCE Intern Tim Buss launched his internship by taking youth and young adults to Hershey Park on July 13.

Sara Hilmer and Sylvia Shives represented the Chesapeake District at the LWML Convention in Milwaukee, where 21 of 45 mission grant requests were funded toward a $2,350,000 goal; servant events produced 566 backpacks, 50,000 meals, 1,167 Braille items and fleece blankets, the opening featured a procession of banners from 40 districts and flags from 83 countries, and ingatherings totaled $16,296 for Phil's Friends, $26,793 for A Place of Refuge, 2,078 quilts for Orphan Grain Train, and 10,510 eyeglasses for MOST Ministries. Members had been invited to donate gift cards for Phil's Friends and A Place of Refuge.

A new shelf in the community-room storage freed the storage room off the library.

The Prayer and Song nursing-home ministry brings messages, prayers, and songs to area care facilities. After resuming in February 2024 (Tom and Jane O'Farrell relaunched weekly visits to Coffman's, Fahrney-Keedy, Creekside, and Robinwood), the rotation evolved: Fahrney-Keedy was added and Creekside Assisted Living closed (residents moved to Robinwood), and by 2024 visits covered five facilities including Creekside Nursing Home, The Residences at Creekside, Homewood Memory Care, Fahrney-Keedy Memory Center, and Coffman Nursing Home.

Orphan Grain Train's Maryland branch made its final payment on the warehouse it built seven years earlier, having raised over $600,000 for construction plus a $332,000 interest-free mortgage from OGT headquarters.

Orphan Grain Train filled and sent a long-anticipated container to South Sudan with school supplies, furniture, medical equipment, solar lights, and Bibles. A separate container to Sudan, delayed in the Port of Baltimore after the Key Bridge collapse, reached its destination July 10, 2024; OGT also received a $1,500 LWML SELC District grant and added a fourth-Saturday sorting day.