If you enjoy serving others, please join us as we pack and distribute Blessing Bags every Wednesday at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, 3100 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Dress for work and the weather, and be prepared to make new friends!

• 9:30 to 11:00 AM Pack Bags
• 11:00 to 1:00 PM Distribute Bags

​For July, we are requesting food donations of Vienna Sausages for the Blessing Bags. Men’s and women’s gently used and new summer clothes, including t-shirts, shorts, pants, socks, shoes, and underwear (new only), are needed now with a special need for men’s clothing and shoes. They may be left in the red wagon in the narthex. Or donations of any amount are always greatly appreciated and can be made online at clcdallas.org  or by check/cash to CLC annotated with “Mt. Olive Food Pantry.”

We’ve received a lot of clothing donations recently, which are greatly needed and appreciated. Thanks to our faithful donors for your continued support - you are a very important part of this ministry! 

READINGS FOR THIS SUNDAY
Acts 17:22-31
Paul’s message to the Athenians
Psalm 66:8-20
Bless our God, you people; let the sound of praise be heard. (Ps. 66:8)
1 Peter 3:13-22
The days of Noah, a sign of baptism
John 14:15-21
Christ, our advocate


OVERVIEW​
Not Orphaned

​“I will not leave you orphaned,” Jesus promises us in today’s gospel. God is not some ruthless heavenly spectator judging us as on reality television, relishing our failures, wishing to exchange us for a better or more attractive child, no curmudgeonly “Daddy Warbucks” in the sky. Instead, God comes to love us in Jesus, singularly loving and accepting, seeking our trust and promising to be ever-present with us in the Holy Spirit. This Holy Advocate moves us even when we don’t recognize its power, even when it seems “an unknown God” (Acts 17:23). Though we might battle essential loneliness, we have not been abandoned.

Many life experiences can leave us feeling orphaned or abandoned. Family can ease that feeling but also magnify it if our family relationships are strained or if our families live far away. Think of those in your congregation who count deployed soldiers among their loved ones in recent years or construction workers and tradesmen who need to live in hotels far away from their families to keep making money for their families in the current challenging economy. The Internet, webcams, Skype, and social networking can link people across the miles. Still, it can further aggravate loneliness and isolation when these substitute for real intimacy in our highly connected world. How do we experience this loneliness and this longing for home and belonging? How does Jesus’ promise that he will not leave us orphaned speak to these real-life concerns?

When Jesus makes this string of promises in John 14, saying that he will remain with us in the Holy Spirit as our Advocate, it’s hard to envision how this support comes to us sometimes. When we do not see or hear those we love, the simple gifts Jesus offers in body and blood, bread and wine shared with actual warm neighbors, have great power. Even when life keeps delivering bad news about how far apart we are from one another and how broken our relationships are, “I will not leave you orphaned” is the godly reassurance that we are not alone.

"Building Freedom for the Homebound"

Have you ever changed a life in a single day? The Texas Ramp Project does it hundreds of times a year by building wheelchair ramps for older adults and others with mobility issues who can't afford to buy one! In a few hours last Saturday morning, CLC volunteers Teri Kuhlman, Jeff Uhri, Ron Palomares​, Mike Macho, David Kuhlman, Peter Kowalczyk, and Andreas Bremer had a successful ramp build constructing a 24' ramp for a young girl with mobility issues.

Stay tuned for the next ramp build date, and join in on the fun and fulfillment of giving freedom to folks with mobility issues!

Join us on Sunday, April 30, at 4:00 PM in the Sanctuary for a special concert by talented young musicians of Dallas. Come and hear those outstanding young musicians share their favorite pieces of music with us. The program will include music from different cultures and styles. All are welcome!

From the annals of history…

Mt.  Olive Lutheran Church Food Pantry

“Frances Byrd Horn of Plenty”
                        Mission:  To follow Christ’s directives to feed the hungry.
“It might interest you to know that:

• The first “hunger pantry” ever to open in Dallas was founded by Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in 1967 to serve the needy from all around the metroplex by providing bags of groceries to the hungry.
• In October of 1999, under the leadership of Pastor Ralph Gipson, the current food pantry was given the name “Frances Byrd Horn of Plenty” in memory of Ms. Frances Byrd, who operated the 1967 pantry.
• Mt. Olive Food Pantry has a two-pronged approach to combating hunger in Zip Codes 75210 and 75215 in the Fair Park Area – serving the homeless and hungry with a healthy luncheon “snack pack” and providing struggling families with a supply of nutritious groceries.
• Providing quality food in abundant quantities to those who would otherwise be hungry, especially the elderly, are priority reasons why 10 congregations, 8 businesses and organizations, 20 patrons, and 40 dedicated volunteers form the backbone of Mt. Olive Food Pantry.

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• Homeless/hungry people may come every Wednesday, but they only receive a sack lunch, and once a month, hygiene items are provided when available. No criterium is necessary to be served. 

A generous man will be blessed to share his food with the poor. 
“Proverbs 22:9”

​Christ Lutheran, a partner of many decades and many caring people, is making a difference. Today, Mt. Olive's Frances Byrd Horn of Plenty Food Pantry continues to provide food and inspiration for those in need. The pantry served almost 14,000 Blessing Bags (snack bags) in 2022, and the need continues to grow. Approximately 300-450 blessing bags are distributed weekly and can be picked up on foot or drive-through. 
 
If you enjoy serving others, please join us as we pack and distribute Blessing Bags every Wednesday and Saturday at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, 3100 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Dress for work and the weather, and be prepared to make new friends! Volunteers are especially needed on Saturdays from 11 AM to 1 PM.
 
            9:30 to 11:00 AM Pack Bags                          11:00 to 1:00 PM Distribute Bags
 
Thanks to our faithful donors for your continued support - you are an important part of this ministry! 
​
For April, we are requesting food donations of Vienna Sausages for the Blessing Bags. They may be left in the red wagon in the narthex. Or donations of any amount are always greatly appreciated and can be made online at clcdallas.org or by check/cash to CLC annotated with “Mt. Olive Food Pantry.”

On Easter Sunday morning, some Episcopal, Lutheran, and other Protestant churches incorporate a ceremony called “The Flowering of the Cross” into their worship service. I first witnessed this at a Protestant church while living in Belgium.

Members of the congregation bring flowers or greenery to church. A bare wooden cross, covered with chicken wire, stands in the church. Before the service, worshipers are invited to approach the barren cross and twine a flower around one of the wires. The congregation continues to decorate the cross until flowers cover it completely.

The ceremony transforms a barren cross, a reminder of Jesus’ death, into an Easter symbol. Covered with fresh, living flowers, the cross serves not only as an emblem of Jesus’ resurrection but also of the continuing presence of Christ among today’s Christians. The flowering of the cross represents the transition from Good Friday to Easter, from meditation on Jesus’ death to joyful celebration of His resurrection.

As you attend the Easter Sunday worship service this year, please pause by the cross and add flowers. You can bring flowers from your garden or take one provided by the Flower Committee.

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor…….    The Mt. Olive volunteers bravely embraced the cold rain this past Wednesday to distribute Blessing Bags to the needy in South Dallas. Given our being shut down several service days due to the snow and ice in the Dallas area, the patrons were incredibly excited to see us serving again. The Winter clothing contributed by CLC was also especially welcome. 

We serve Blessing Bags every Wednesday and Saturday between 9:30 AM and 1:00 PM at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, 3100 MLK Boulevard, Dallas. Please join us any time to serve the neighbors and make new friends! If you have any questions, please get in touch at [email protected] with any questions.

A special thanks to all those faithful donors this past year for your monetary, clothing, and food contributions. You are an essential part of this ministry! 

​Donations of any amount are always greatly appreciated and can be made online at clcdallas.org or by check/cash to CLC annotated with “Mt. Olive Food Pantry.”