Mission & Outreach

2023 Mission and Outreach Team Annual Report

Our congregation has a heartfelt understanding of ministry beyond our church walls.  We support a variety of local and global ministries.  Good Shepherd members realize that our brothers and sisters are not just the people we meet every day, but also people we may never meet.

                  - Following is a review of our ministries in 2023 -

Feed My Starving Children (FMSC):  This was GSLC’s 11th year participating in FMSC, an organization that feeds God’s hungry children around the world. The 2023 MobilePack was held the first week in October. Over 3,000 volunteers from the Green Bay area packed 513,216 meals at the Community Church in Howard. This was enough to feed 1,406 children for an entire year. The meals were sent to Ukraine, Uganda, and South Sudan. Our church collected $2,845 to donate toward the meals plus a $500 donation from a church family fed an entire family for a year. Tammy Rusch and Tara Jagler are on the FMSC Board, representing GSLC as one of the 10 partner churches in the Green Bay area. 

Ecumenical Partnership for Housing (EPH):  GSLC is responsible for managing and maintaining Matthew House, owned by EPH, which provides a home for a family experiencing homelessness. During most of 2023, Matthew House was home to a mother and her young son. After their successful move to their own housing, Matthew House is now housing a mother and her two teenage boys. GSLC has sponsored  Matthew House since 2014 and we have helped 13 families over these past ten years. Volunteer help is essential to quickly get the home ready for the next family when one family moves on. Shirley Kocha serves as our unit coordinator and is appreciative of volunteers, donations and prayers. Tarra Gallagher is our EPH Board member, representing GSLC at monthly meetings and keeping our church informed.

Soup Sunday:  This was the ninth year of our Soup Sunday Sale, held on January 29, 2023.  Members donated about 50 quarts of homemade soup for others to purchase. Quarts were sold for $10 each and the total collected, with additional donations, was $635. This amount was donated to Ecumenical Partnership in Housing (EPH) in Green Bay which helps provide housing for about 35 families. 

Help for the Homeless Hygiene Drive:  For the past eight years, GSLC has participated in this hygiene drive which is sponsored by “The Family” 91.5 FM radio station during February and March. At the end of the drive in March there were overflowing boxes of hygiene products in the Narthex.  All donations were given to local crisis agencies, including the area shelters. Diane Lenz leads this ministry.

Days for Girls:  This nonprofit organization sews feminine hygiene kits for young girls in countries who would otherwise miss school during their monthly periods. GSLC has been involved in the local chapter for six years. During this past year 1,425 kits were completed and were sent to girls and young women in Turkey, Cameroon, Nicaragua, Honduras and Tanzania. Lois Appel leads this ministry.

Thanksgiving Food Drive:  This was our first year of the Food Drive. There were hundreds of donated food items from GSLC members. The food was given to The Giving Tree here in Howard, so donations stayed local.  Sue Riemer planned and led this new ministry, which hopefully will continue each year. 

Christmas Gifting Tree:  During November to early December, a Christmas tree in the Narthex was decorated with ornaments that labeled gift ideas needed by families for their children in the area. These donated gifts were given to The Giving Tree in Howard. Good Shepherd had many gifts donated which were part of The Giving Tree's Annual Holiday Store. These gifts, along with others donated in our area, helped to spread Christmas cheer to 260 families and over 600 children from ages 1-18. Sadie Johnsen is our liaison with The Giving Tree and organizes this ministry. 

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Thank you to all who have helped make these Mission & Outreach ministries possible by volunteering your time, donating, and praying.  Your efforts have helped GSLC make a difference in the lives of many—young & old, near & far, all of God’s children.

If you are interested in helping with any of these ministries during 2024 and/or would like to join our team and/or have ideas for future ministries that you would like to discuss, please contact one of us on this team. We welcome new faces and new ideas!

The 2023 Mission & Outreach Team – Lois Appel, Alix Carlson, Sara Fielder, Tarra Gallagher, Sadie Johnsen, Shirley Kocha, Diane Lenz, Brooke Mitchell, Patricia Perez, Sue Riemer, Tammy Rusch

 Through the following ministries, we connect people with opportunities to serve just as Christ has called us to do.