"God's Work, Our Hands"

My name is Sue Grassey, and I am a member of Faith Lutheran, in Quincy, Massachusetts. I have just returned from an invigorating weekend at Camp Calumet in beautiful Ossipee, New Hampshire.  For the past three years, we have been attending the annual Youth Group gathering, which takes place during the first weekend in March at Camp Calumet. It is a time for Youth Groups from all over the NE Synod to come together and participate in a program run by counselors from Calumet. Our youth really look forward to this weekend, as many attend summer camp, and some are even counselors themselves. As leaders, we enjoy seeing friends that we have made over the years, as well as spending quality time with our own youth and teens from other groups.

The theme for this weekend was “God’s Work, Our Hands.” This was one of the best programs that we have attended at Calumet. We spent the weekend talking about how youth can make a difference in their world. So many of the kids are involved in some very special programs, and they have a passion for mission work.  Many of them have gone on mission trips, been involved in the 30-hour Famine, worked at local soup kitchens, and the list goes on. These kids are doing God’s work with their hands!

Our youth have recently developed a passion for mission also. A year ago, our church called a new pastor. Pastor Matthew came from Minnesota with a background in Youth Ministry. Our kids were instantly in love with him. His enthusiasm, passion for mission, and abundant energy touched something in them that many of our kids had been missing.

Pastor Matthew has a passion for feeding starving children, and has been doing this work for multiple years. He had been working with an organization called Feeding Children International, which feeds hungry children around the world with help from volunteers. The program involves assembling packages of food, each of which holds enough to feed a family of six. The process is performed in “assembly-line” style, and involves six to eight people. Our youth packaged over 40,000 meals last summer, and developed a passion for this work. Each time we planned on packaging meals, the turnout was overwhelming. The kids were so excited, and each time they put the meals together, they tried to outdo themselves from the last time! Their energy and excitement were contagious.

Our group brought this program to Calumet’s Youth Weekend because we feel that the work we are doing at Faith is God’s Work. The kids were really excited about demonstrating the program. We put on a PowerPoint presentation that explained the organization and the food packaging program. Then our youth got the opportunity to show everyone how it is done. Those in attendance eagerly got involved with assembling the meals, with many of them taking turns. The leaders had lots of questions and were very interested in getting involved.

With the synod initiative of Doing What Matters, we here at Faith really believe that we are doing just that, especially with our Youth Group. They are eager to get involved in community service and to help others. In just three weeks, we will be participating in World Visions 30-hour Famine where we will again package meals.