Lutheran East held its 4th Annual Service Day on Friday, May 8. This day of service was created to provide an opportunity for all students and staff to be exposed to opportunities to serve the community. The day began in the morning with an opportunity to worship our Lord and Savior through prayer and song that centered around our theme of service. Faculty member Rev. Mandel Childs was the speaker and reminded the students that we should serve the Lord with joy while looking to make an impact through both our words and our actions. The students then loaded up into buses to travel to the 14 different service sites throughout the Greater Cleveland Area.
Many students were able to help with spring cleaning and yard work at some of the area Lutheran churches who support our school, including: St. John Nottingham, St. John South Euclid, St. Peter Shaker Heights, Mt. Olive Cleveland Heights and Hope Cleveland Heights. It was exciting to see the transformation from the brutal cold of winter into the beautiful spring scenes at these churches. Other groups were able to prepare meals to serve and bag lunches to deliver to the hungry in the community at Cleveland Food Bank and St. Malachi Catholic Parish. We were also able to help several sites with painting, cleaning, and repairs to continue their ministry at Forward Church, Cleveland Heights Community Center, Family Ministry Center, International Service Center and Cumberland Pool.
Many of the students start the day with apprehensions about what type of work they will be doing for the day. However, upon returning to school, these same faces have been transformed to smiles with the joy of being able to make a positive difference in the community and to touch the lives of people with the Gospel. We are truly blessed with some gifted and caring students at Lutheran East who enjoy serving the Lord. We are always so grateful for the many friends and alumni of Lutheran East who volunteer to help on this day and we look forward to serving our Lord next year. As you look ahead to next year, come join us for this exciting annual event at Lutheran East!