On Friday and Saturday (October 10 and 11), area congregations came together to bring their donations of Quilts and Kits to the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod office for transport to the Lutheran World Relief warehouse. Along the way, we stopped in Reading to pick up donations from several Berks County churches.
In total, fifteen congregations from the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, one from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, and one family brought their boxes to be loaded onto the truck headed to Bergstrasse Lutheran Church in Ephrata, where they joined donations from the Lower Susquehanna Synod. The truck was graciously donated by Kristi Smith of RE/MAX Real Estate in Allentown. Thank you, Kristi!
It was truly an overwhelming and inspiring effort across eastern and central Pennsylvania. The boxes nearly filled the entire tractor trailer! From the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod Ingathering, we collected 236 quilts, 286 Personal Care Kits, 68 Baby Care Kits, 776 School Kits, and 10 Fabric Kits. Amazing!
These donations are now on their way to bring warmth and comfort to people around the world who are facing devastation caused by hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and war.
The churches who participated included:
Trinity Lutheran Church, Perkasie
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Northampton
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, White Haven
St. John’s Lutheran Church, Allentown
Trinity Lutheran Church, Topton
St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church, Bethlehem
St. John’s Lutheran Church, Stroudsburg
Trinity Lutheran Church, Robesonia
Zion United Lutheran Church, Brodheadsville
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Bangor
St. Paul Lutheran Church, Mountaintop
Nativity Lutheran Church, Reading
Christ Lutheran Church, Reading
Trinity Lutheran Church, Wernersville
Zion Lutheran Church, Shoemakersville
Zion Lutheran Church, Womelsdorf
Lowell and Sharon Lysinger, Perkasie (no church affiliation)
Thank you!
Thank you to all the congregations and volunteers who made this year’s Ingathering possible. Special thanks to Eileen Lane of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Allentown, for coordinating local collections; to Pastor Bruce Osterhout for leading the drop-off location in Berks County; and to Kristi Smith of RE/MAX Real Estate in Allentown for providing the truck. We’re also grateful to Bergstrasse Lutheran Church in Ephrata for receiving and staging the donations, and to Lutheran World Relief for ensuring they reach people in need around the world.
