For many in the ELCA, “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday has become synonymous with serving and accompanying the neighbor. “We think about and practice those words throughout the year,” said Billy Kobin, outreach leader at Emanuel Lutheran Episcopal Church in Augusta, Maine.

When the church’s annual day of service was introduced in 2013, it united members across this church in acts of service to honor the ELCA’s 25th anniversary. Yet for many, an ongoing commitment to love and care for others was already a deeply rooted expression of their faith.

This year was no exception. “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday, held on Sept. 7, continues to be a powerful way for volunteers of all ages and congregations of all sizes to respond to God’s call to serve. What began as a single day has grown into a broader movement—often spanning multiple days and involving partnerships with fellow congregations, social ministry organizations and interfaith groups.

“The Augusta area may not be the most populous part of the state, but the needs and burdens that many of our neighbors [experience] is apparent when driving, biking, walking or running through downtown streets,” said Kobin. “Loving our neighbors is what we are called to do, and this work that our hands carry out each week is part of our vocation.”

The acts of service are as diverse as the communities they support.

The acts of service are as diverse as the communities they support. They include:

  • Assisting at local food pantries and shelters.
  • Assembling meal and personal-care kits.
  • Visiting residents in assisted-living homes.
  • Cleaning parks and offering home repair.
  • Writing thank-you letters to first responders and military veterans.

“We may be small, but we are God’s hands in our community,” said Karen Stetins, a pastor of St. Mark Lutheran Church in Fairfield, Calif. This year, volunteers from the congregation gathered at a local assisted-living center for lunch and an old-fashioned hymn sing with residents.

Shepherd of the Lakes Lutheran Church in Walled Lake, Mich., joined other ELCA congregations, combining service projects and worship. Judd Delancey, pastor of Shepherd of the Lakes, expressed his gratitude for the day. “Thank you for helping us find meaningful and relevant ways to serve God by serving others and letting our acts of service be acts of worship.”

“Solidarity and witness”

Each act of service, big or small, reflects the spirit of compassion and unity that defines this day:

  • Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chicago assisted in deep-cleaning common areas at a group home of Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, and volunteers of all ages created no-sew blankets to give a warm welcome to incoming residents of a new accessible and affordable housing development in the neighborhood.
  • Luke Lutheran Church in North Baltimore, Ohio, assisted its local food pantry by collecting nonperishable items and assembling Thanksgiving meal kits to distribute in November.
  • Grace Lutheran Church in Mendham, N.J., partnered with a local Boy Scouts troop and youth from St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Mendham to help with lawn care and cook lunch for the residents of Mendham Area Senior Housing.
  • Grace Lutheran Church in Ormond Beach, Fla., organized a baked potato bar fundraiser for Lutheran Disaster Response to benefit fire victims in Los Angeles.
  • Trinity Lutheran in Newport News, Va., combined the day of service, Rally Day and its new partnership as a Reconciling in Christ congregation into one celebratory event.
  • ELCA congregations in Grand Forks, N.D., hosted “God’s work. Our hands: Combatting Food Insecurity Together.” The public event included a free community meal, packing food kits for neighbors in need, advocacy activities, live music and holy communion.
  • Zoar Lutheran Church in Perrysburg, Ohio, joined other faith organizations and community partners to construct bed frames for children in need.

Congregations were especially mindful of the challenges faced by social service organizations due to reductions in federal funding.

This year, many congregations were especially mindful of the challenges faced by social service organizations due to reductions in federal funding. Volunteers from St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church in Washington, D.C., helped support the James Creek public housing community food pantry by purchasing products, not covered by food stamps, that could become more critical as budget cuts to public assistance are phased in.

In the Southwestern Texas Synod, acts of service became acts of presence when organizers invited participants to observe immigration courts in San Antonio and Harlingen. The courts oversee cases that involve asylum claims, deportation orders and applications for legal status.

“In this context, our day of service was about more than just transparency and accountability,” said Hilda Santiago, program manager for the synod’s migration ministries. “It was about solidarity and witness.”

“Loving, liberated service to others is more than a one-time or even ongoing activity,” said Lois Eichman of her experience at the Harlingen court and the learning opportunities provided by “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday. “Being baptized into Christ’s life creates a whole new world of relationships—with God, with others and even with ourselves—that is characterized by loving, liberated service.

“This is the gift [the church] has given us in this project. There is always more to learn and experience in this world. … There is so much to learn and to do. May we be able to continue, to resist and persist, to be God’s hands in this broken world.”

Candice Hill Buchbinder
Candice Hill Buchbinder is the ELCA public relations manager.

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Congregational life, Mission & ministry   ELCA congregations, God's work our hands, Outreach, Service