Outreach Ministries

Gethsemane’s people are involved in many ministries. Outreach ministries and supported organizations include:

• Alanon
• Angel Fund (see below)
• Men’s Basketball
• Bloodmobile
• Boy Scouts
• Cub Scouts
• Concordia Academy
• ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) World Hunger Appeal
• ELCA domestic and global outreach programs
• Girl Scouts
• Lutheran World Relief Coffee (see below)
• The Giving Tree (see below)
• Lutheran Social Services of St. Paul
• Meals on Wheels (see below)
• Merrick Food Shelves of East St. Paul
• Saint Paul Area Synod of the ELCA
• Tanzania scholarships

Meals on Wheels

The Meals on Wheels program provides hot, nutritious noon meals to poor, frail, isolated seniors and disabled people. The goal of the program is to help participants remain independent and live in their homes as long as possible. As little as 1.5 hours every other week is required for this area of volunteerism. Weekly drivers as well as back-up drivers are always needed.

Angel Fund

This fund is to help those in need with gas or food.  When somebody contacts us, a letter is written to request that the family be given a specified amount of food or gas.  If you would like to contribute to the Angel Fund, please contact Gayle Bidne at 651-739-1264 ext. 203.   

The Giving Tree

This ministry helps those in need at Christmas.  Families' and individuals' needs are written on "ornaments", which congregation members take and purchase the requested items for the family or individual.  The gifts are then delivered to the families and individuals by volunteers. Through the Giving Tree in 2007, Gethsemane helped many families, a number of which were referred by the South East Asian Ministry organization of St. Paul, MN, as well as a group home for mentally challenged adults.   

Lutheran World Relief Coffee

The LWR Fair Trade Coffee Project ensures that more of the money you spend on coffee reaches the farmers who actually grow it. Fair trade coffee is a simple solution that means the difference—quite literally—between surviving and not surviving for small-scale coffee farmers. At Gethsemane, we are selling a variety of fair trade coffee, tea, and chocolate between services at least twice a month. Please stop by the table in the narthex on Sundays to learn more about how you can help support small farmers.

Questions & How to Participate

Please call the church office at 651-739-1264 for answers to your questions about a specific ministry. The church office will help you contact an individual who can answer your questions or assist you in joining one of these ministries.