Wheelchair Ramp Build, 31 Jan 2015

Completed Wheelchair Ramp

2 Corinthians 9:7 

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

What an awesome day!

It started with a need.  A woman in Harvest, Alabama needed the ability to safely enter and exit her home.

A community came together to make that  happen.

Messiah Lutheran Church in Madison, Alabama in cooperation with CASA of Madison County organized a team to build a wheelchair ramp for this woman.  This was not the first wheelchair ramp built by the carpenters of Messiah Lutheran Church.  This was the 30th Ramp built by this group.

And even though a lot of work was accomplished today, it hardly felt like work at all.  The enthusiasm of this group was overwhelming and spiritually uplifting. It started at 7:00 in the morning when the group met at a restaurant for breakfast and continued throughout the day.

And it was also a day of passing on our ramp building skills to the next generation of ramp builders who had such a positive attitude and worked so hard.

Messiah Lutheran Church builds these ramps in partnership with CASA of Madison County.

CASA (Care Assurance System for the Aging and Homebound) is a non-profit agency located in Huntsville, Alabama that provides services to individuals age 60 and older and to the homebound (wheelchair and bed bound) of all ages.

CASA's mission is to provide needed services to aging/homebound individuals that allow them to remain at home and age in place. Our programs are designed to enable the elderly and homebound to maintain their independence, dignity, health and safety by providing services that specifically address their special physical and emotional needs.

We give special thanks to Jim Fossum and Thrivent Financial for providing lunch for the team and for their ongoing support of our community activities. Thrivent Financial is a financial services organization that helps Christians be wise with money and live generously. We offer a broad range of products and services – including life insurance, annuities and mutual funds – along with guidance from financial representatives nationwide. For more than a century we've helped our nearly 2.4 million member-owners make wise money choices that reflect their values. And we provide opportunities for them to be even more generous where they live, work and worship.

If you would like to participate in a future wheelchair ramp build, please contact the Messiah Lutheran Church Office at 256-721-0041.

Click here for some additional photos of today's build.

Messiah's church-wide "E100" begins.

Messiah Lutheran's church-wide "E100:The Essential One-Hundred Bible Reading Plan" kicked off for all ages during the January 11th Sunday School hour.  

"E100," which has an accompanying guidebook for both adults and children, guides participants towards deeper knowledge and understanding of the world's greatest book, through daily weekday readings, prayer, personal reflection and discussion.  

Every Sunday, adult participants will gather during the Sunday School hour (9:45 to 10:45) in the Parish Hall where Pastor Scott Peterson will begin with a brief introduction and period of instruction along with some Q and A.  The later half of the hour will feature small group discussion and reflection.  The children's text follows the same reading schedule as the adult's text and will extend the learning through richly illustrated guidebook and craft activities.   Individuals may also study along independently.

Note: The adult "E100 Challenge Guide" book was made available to participants for a suggested donation of $8.00 each.  If you are interested in the course and need a guide book, please let the church office know as additional books will likely be ordered soon.   The January reading schedule is posted on page 3 of  the January 2015 newsletter and will be sent out to the membership in this week's E-News.