March 30, 2015 / Senior Citizen Ministry
Lindenwood Area Senior Ministries (LASM) was developed by SGSM Network, but has since developed into its own ecumenical, neighborhood-focused senior ministry. Five churches (Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic Church, Mount Tabor United Church of Christ, Southwest Baptist Church, Timothy Lutheran Church, and Union United Methodist Church) partner together to provide seniors in their community with visits, support, transportation, home maintenance, social opportunities, and more.
In coming together, these churches have been able to pull together their resources to serve the community in a much greater way than if they had done this separately. People from different congregations who lived alongside each other for years but never associated with one another have gotten to know each other. God has been breaking down walls in building relationships as people recognize that they are all loved by and serve Him.
As the churches have been able to unify over a common concern for their people, the larger community has taken notice. In a day when many younger people have become disillusioned by the Church, seeing such strong cooperation between churches has intrigued many community members. LASM has welcomed volunteers from outside these five churches and the churches themselves have received new attendees drawn by such a compelling picture.
While every collaboration can have challenges, LASM has been able to navigate these quite successfully. In fact, their association has even reached beyond their original partnership. At the end of the Christmas season last year, they had a joint choir celebration in which all the congregations participated.
For LASM, Send Me St. Louis has been a great resource and support. They have been able to attend networking events that connected them to other similar ministries, providing a place for idea sharing. LASM has also been able to incorporate various ideas on managing and equipping volunteers through both United Way’s volunteer management training as well as sessions from Send Me St. Louis, all of which have been incredibly beneficial.
Katie Weintraub, Executive Director of LASM , encourages other churches and organizations to consider ways they can form partnerships as well. The benefits are huge and even though it can take significant time and effort to form such a collaboration, she emphasizes that it is entirely worth the effort.
For more information on Lindenwood Area Senior Ministries, click here!