Generosity Team

Formerly known as the "Stewardship Team", this ministry team focuses on organizing efforts for Gethsemane's members and friends to show their generosity to one another and to our neighbors.

Current Volunteer Opportunities

Do you have a passion to help others? Do you have some time to help others with various projects throughout the year? Do you only have a little time but wish to share some creative ideas? We are always looking for more members for our Generosity Team! We meet on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 4:00 in the church library. If you are interested, please contact Sheila Davidson or call the church office and join this awesome team!

Gethsemane's Favor of the month

As we began our Generosity Team we realized that there were many ongoing needs in our community. We then decided to focus on one service project per month,  thus named the "Favor of the Month". Here are the favors we've done this past year:

• January - THEE Alliance - Medical Debt Relief and Hat and Mitten Tree – Working with Thee Alliance to assist those with Medical Debt.  In 2025 we raised over $2300 which means we were able to eliminate medical debt totaling $230,000 ($1 given = $100 forgiven.) Hat and Mitten Tree is covered with items to provide warmth to those friends in our communities. 
• February - God's Global Barnyard– collecting funds that will be sent to the ELCA’s Good Gifts/God’s Global Barnyard Program for the purchase of animals.
• March – Cold Cereal Challenge and God's Global Barnyard – Our congregation generously donated 165 boxes of cereal which will be placed in our Little Free Pantry for those in need. We continued collecting funds that will be sent to the ELCA’s Good Gifts/God’s Global Barnyard Program for the purchase of animals. The Sunday School students and the Congregation collected an impressive $956.06.
• April - Applications for College Scholarships– scholarships will be offered through the Mission Endowment Fund to all GELC members who are high school seniors and those who will be post-secondary students in the 2024-2025 school year. The amount of each scholarship will be $2,000.
• May - North St. Louis County Treatment Courts–Donations of items will be utilized to provide incentives for individuals seeking treatment for addictions. If you are interested in furthering the mission, you can make a tax-deductible donation by contacting the North St. Louis County, Treatment Courts for more information.
• June - Cleaning out our Closets for God – We collect gently used and new towels for our neighbors at CHUM in Duluth and women's bras for "We Support the Girls." It is amazing to see the donations from our members. In 2022 we collected 150 towels and 189 bras! 
• July – Furniture Drive for Range Transitional Housing – We open our garage doors and collect furniture and household items for our neighbors with Range Transitional Housing. The generosity of our members and friends is always astounding.
• August - Rock the Block Picnic – Together with our neighbors at Peace United Methodist, we host an annual neighborhood Block Party in which we provide hot dogs, corn on the cob, root beer floats, live music, and children’s games to our neighbors free of charge. This is always a huge success!
• September - Snacks for School – During the school year, many of our local children are unable to bring their own snacks from home to enjoy during the day while at school. During the months of August and September we collected snacks for our neighbors/teachers to provide for their students. We packaged and distributed over 30 bags to the teachers to distribute to their kiddos.
• October - Stocktober  – We hold a food drive to supplement our ever-popular Little Free Pantry. We have a fun competition each year and one team  wins bragging rights for the most food donations. Our Food Pantry benefits greatly!
• November - Thank you to our Congregation! – Instead of asking for more support this month, we turn the tables and thank our congregational members for all of their support during the year. We couldn’t do our “Favors of the Month” without them!
• December - Transitional Housing Christmas gifts, Christmas Cookies for Bill’s House, Bell ringing for Salvation Army, ELCA Good Gifts – We offer many opportunities for our congregational members to give back to our neighbors during this blessed Christmas time.

Other Giving Opportunities

Community Clothesline & Little Food Pantry

GIVE WHAT YOU CAN - TAKE WHAT YOU NEED! 

Our Little Food Pantry is open for anyone to donate or take what they need. Nonperishable food items, personal care, and paper products are usually stocked in the pantry. The pantry is refilled daily and is emptied very quickly. As you are grocery shopping, please consider - CAN YOU BUY TWO? One item for yourself, and one item for our food pantry?

KIVA.ORG - Supporting Women Around The World Through Recurring Micro Loans

THEEAlliance.Org In Partnership With RIP MedicalDebt - Freeing Our Neighbors From Crushing Medical Debt 

ELCA Good Gifts

ELCA Good Gifts  is a great alternative to giving more STUFF for birthdays and holidays. Instead, try giving the gift of generosity and joy. You can provide education for a child, clean water for a village, livestock or seeds to a farming family, or even help fund a budding pastor's education! When you give a gift, you can choose a card to send or give to someone to let them know you gave in honor of them!