Reverend Christina L. Wendland

One of my fondest memories of being a student at Trinity Lutheran School (Marysville, Ohio) is the Annual Christian Education Association Soup Supper. The event has changed little in the 25 years since I participated in it. Each Election Day, the Christian Education Association at Trinity sponsors a soup supper for the entire community. For a small fee, which goes toward the needs of the school children, one can eat enough soup, salad, and pie to satisfy their stomachs for a long time. The students are assigned jobs which range from pouring coffee to serving Jello to cleaning tables. They are trained in their jobs and are instructed to be on their best behavior while serving the people of Marysville, Ohio.

It was not until I reached adulthood that I realized the Soup Supper was a vital way for our school to interact with the community. Hundreds and hundreds of people come to Trinity to eat and enjoy fellowship with other people in the community. And everyone is involved in the process…children, parents, teachers, even the principal has been known to have an apron on with a dishtowel in her hand. When people walk through the door, they see the artwork of the students in the hallway; they see students greeting and serving people; and they see teachers and parents washing dishes. In this way, Trinity reaches out to its community to show the people of Marysville, Ohio that something good is happening at Trinity Lutheran School.

This is only one way in which one school reaches out to its community. How does your school interact with your community? Do you invite people in the community to come and look at your school? Do you take up an offering of clothes or food to donate to a local needs pantry? Do you hold a carnival or a circus for children in the community? Do you participate in your local library’s reading program?

Lutheran schools are in a unique position to interact with their communities. Not only are Lutheran schools great places to receive a quality education, but Lutheran schools are wonderful places to learn about the love of Jesus Christ and sharing that love with everyone. What better time to teach someone to share the good news of Jesus’ love in their community, than when they are children? Lutheran schools, unlike public schools, can reach out to the community IN THE NAME OF JESUS. This unique opportunity allows Lutheran schools to teach children the why of doing things for other people. And they learn it in the place where they spend the most time: at school, in the presence of other children.

Of course, interaction with the community is a two way street. As Lutheran schools strive to spread the message of God’s love to the children of a particular community, so the communities reach out to encourage good values and provide excellent places of learning for children. What can you do to make your mission a mission of sharing Christ’s love with the people of your community?

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