Summer Servant Events still taking registrations

A camper receives a piggy-back ride from a counselor at All Nations Outreach, Camp Lutherhaven, Albion, Ind., in 2017. The day camp, at which LCMS Servant Event participants volunteer as camp counselors for refugee children, is one of several LCMS Servant Events that still have openings for this summer. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

It’s not too late to register for over 50 LCMS Servant Events taking place around the country and overseas during the months of June, July and August. Many of the events are offered more than once, with multiple dates from which to choose.

The events, ranging in duration from a few days to several weeks, include such activities as:

cleaning up the Platte River in Colorado;

helping provide an outdoor camp experience for special-needs adults;

serving as day-camp counselors for refugee children;

rehabilitating homes for the elderly, single parents and those in financial need in Appalachia;

working with Habitat for Humanity in North Carolina; and

serving the Native American community in Inger, Minn.

One event offers an “inner-city immersion” experience in Cincinnati, Ohio, as participants assist with the homeless ministry at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.

According to the listing on the Servant Event website, participants will sleep at the church, participate in all activities related to the homeless ministry at Prince of Peace, and gain exposure to other agencies in the area that also serve the poor and homeless.

“The goal of this immersion program,” states the event description, “is to truly give the participants a taste of what it’s like to be homeless in the inner-city of Cincinnati.”

In addition to the service aspect of the event, there will be some breaks for recreation that might include such activities as attending a Reds baseball game, visiting Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati, or taking a field trip to the Creation Museum in nearby Petersburg, Ky.

Another event, one that is ongoing throughout the summer with flexible scheduling, is serving at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch in Minot, Bismarck or Fargo, N.D.

According to the event listing, “Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch is a residential treatment and educational center for children and their families.

“We help the most troubled, complicated and amazing kids by providing best-in-class psychiatric therapy and trauma-informed care, where we look kids in the eye, walk with them and help them become their best selves. … Servant Teams assist with such projects as landscaping, building and ground maintenance, office support, assisting with the therapeutic riding program and activities at our thrift shops.”

Many of the summer Servant Events are open not only to high school students but to middle school students and adults as well.

For more information and a complete listing of LCMS Servant Events, including details about age requirements and cost, visit servantevents.lcms.org.

View LCMS Servant Events
Posted May 22, 2019