December community dinner includes visit from Santa
by Melanie Jongsma
LANSING, Ill. (December 19, 2018) – Trinity Lutheran Church has been hosting a monthly community dinner for several years. It’s a free, homemade meal served by cheerful volunteers and enjoyed by about 100 people—churched and unchurched alike. Each month, Pastor John Holyer prays over the meal, and often he lets guests know about upcoming church events or regular Sunday services, but there is no pressure to attend or convert or somehow “earn” the meal. Trinity Lutheran Church just wants to get to know their neighbors, and a free dinner is one way to show hospitality.
Jim Janssen is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church. He’s also a member of the Lansing Lions. So when Lions President Eric Himmel began encouraging the club to be more personally involved in the Lansing community, Janssen made a connection between the Lions and the Lutherans. For the December dinner, held on December 17, a Lions donation paid for the meal, and Lions lined up with ladles and tongs to serve the guests.
The crowd was about twice the usual size, largely because Trinity Lutheran Church and the Lansing Lions had invited Santa, and they spread the word to a number of Lansing families. Santa met with the children and gave them gift bags that had been provided and assembled by Trinity Lutheran Church members and included donations from both Trinity and the Lions.
Trinity Lutheran Church is located at 2505 Indiana Avenue in Lansing, Illinois. Their community dinners are typically served on the fourth Monday of the month, though sometimes the schedule changes because of holidays or other events. Contact the church for more information about the dinners and other church programs:
- Office phone: 708-474-7997
- Website: trinitylutheranlansing.com
The Lansing Lions hold a Board meeting on the first Tuesday of each month and a dinner meeting on the fourth Tuesday of the month. For more information about getting involved or becoming a Lansing Lion, contact President Eric Himmel:
- Email Lion Eric
- Mail the Lansing Lions at P.O. Box 421, Lansing, IL 60438
Great job and certainly feel God will reward both Trinity Lutheran and Lansing Lions for what looks to like to me from Florida a great Blessed job well done.