Welcome to Edinburg Lutheran Parish (Edinburg, VA)

The Salvation Army needs help at the Woodstock Walmart and Mt. Jackson Food Lion for 1 or 2-hour shifts. Will you consider joining in this wonderful holiday past time? See Pastor Katie for more information 

In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was distraught because so many poor individuals in San Francisco were going hungry. During the holiday season, he resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the destitute and poverty-stricken. He only had one major hurdle to overcome -- funding the project.

Where would the money come from, he wondered. He lay awake nights, worrying, thinking, praying about how he could find the funds to fulfill his commitment of feeding 1,000 of the city's poorest individuals on Christmas Day. As he pondered the issue, his thoughts drifted back to his sailor days in Liverpool, England. He remembered how at Stage Landing, where the boats came in, there was a large, iron kettle called "Simpson's Pot" into which passers-by tossed a coin or two to help the poor.

The next day Captain McFee placed a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street. Beside the pot, he placed a sign that read, "Keep the Pot Boiling." He soon had the money to see that the needy people were properly fed at Christmas.

Six years later, the kettle idea spread from the west coast to the Boston area. That year, the combined effort nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the needy. In 1901, kettle contributions in New York City provided funds for the first mammoth sit-down dinner in Madison Square Garden, a custom that continued for many years. Today in the U.S., The Salvation Army assists more than four-and-a-half million people during the Thanksgiving and Christmas time periods.

Captain McFee's kettle idea launched a tradition that has spread not only throughout the United States, but all across the world. Kettles are now used in such distant lands as Korea, Japan, Chile and many European countries. Everywhere, public contributions to Salvation Army kettles enable the organization to continue its year-round efforts at helping those who would otherwise be forgotten.

Spring Forward will soon embark on its 16th year of service to our community!  This program is for students in grades 1-6 and meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-6pm at Zion. Snacks are provided.  Please help spread the word and call for more information. Registration is required.

Be encouraged to take time to stop by and check the Blessing Box. The upper portion is for food stuffs, and the lower space is for firewood in the cold months and produce and plants in the warm months.  Spread the word!

“But in times past, ... the people ... gathered food and material goods in the church, and there – as St. Paul writes in I Corinthians 11 – distributed among those in need.”

- Martin Luther in The Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body of Christ, and the Brotherhoods (1519)

As our faith informs our day-to-day lives, Lutherans recognize that “faith is active in love and love calls for justice in relationships and structures of society” (ELCA, Social Statement on Church in Society, 1991).  We also know the church is called to be a community that prays, reflects, and acts together when it comes to complex social issues.  In this election year, how might our Lutheran faith shape our thinking, acting, and voting on major issues?  Join United Lutheran Seminary's webinar series to learn and ponder the timely social teachings of our church.  The webinar series offers a different topic each month through October.  For more information, let Pastor Katie know of your interest as she has a handout with the topics and can help you get connected to the program

Bishop Eaton shared a statement expressing disappointment in the Grants Pass Supreme Court Decision, which “clears the way for difficult civil and criminal penalties placed on unsheltered neighbors forced to sleep in parks or on other public property. This could jeopardize the work of Lutheran ministries and organizations dedicated to helping people experiencing homelessness. As a church, we are called by God’s grace to love and serve the most vulnerable and marginalized neighbors in our communities.”