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WORKING LOVE IN THE HEART OF APPALACHIA
A conference which we are calling “Working Love in the Heart of Appalachia” is being planned in Charleston, WV beginning April 9 at 6pm and ending April 10 at 4pm. The conference will bring together the Lutheran congregations in the WV-WMD synod and community leaders from small towns in southern WV. During this conference, the community leaders will share with us the needs and struggles of their areas. Our plan is to have Lutheran congregations partner with these communities to begin meeting the needs of their residents who “fall through the cracks” of the system. Examples of the ministries we are planning include:

· increasing the number of mission work teams going to the area for home rehabs
· VBS Immersion Experiences: congregations work through an existing agency to offer their 2010 VBS program in southern WV
· partnering congregations with existing outreach agencies in the southern WV area to strengthen and support their ministries

While southern WV is one of the largest mission fields in the country, the Lutheran presence in the area is sparse. There are no Lutheran congregations located in many of the counties in which we will be working. This conference is being sponsored by CLP using funds a grant we received from the Deaconess Community, ELCA in August 2009. The intent of the Deaconess grant was to increase the Lutheran presence in the southern WV area.
Please see our registration form which is available at clp-online.org under “Downloads”.

CHARITABLE GIVING
By planning now, we can take steps to leave a legacy that endows the future ministry of CLP and other organizations we have supported during life. For more information, please contact: Barbara B. Carl is the Regional Gift Planner for the ELCA Foundation, serving in the Northwestern Pennsylvania, Southwestern Pennsylvania, and West Virginia – Western Maryland Synods of the ELCA. For more information about how you can plan a gift for ministry, call her at 724-438-7741.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
In 2010, CLP is continuing to work with congregations to develop their ministry plans for times of disaster.
Ideas for ministries include: forming your own Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Red Cross Shelter Training and First Aid classes, and individual and congregational preparedness.
Thanks to Christ Lutheran Church in Mozart for holding CERT classes in 2009 and for hosting a Red Cross Shelter training in 2010; Trinity Lutheran in Weirton for holding a Disaster Sunday in 2009 and practicing a fire drill during the service; and St. Mark, Wheeling for helping to coordinate an Elm Grove Community CERT class in March of 2010.
Contact the office (304)312-4222 to begin planning your disaster ministry plan.

CONFERENCE MISSION OPPORTUNITIES
Join CLP as we begin to develop mission opportunities in our synod. Every week agencies from other states contact the office looking for mission experiences in the WV-W MD Synod. CLP will spend 2010 working with the Deans of the conferences to identify unmet needs in their regions so we can build mission programs which will begin to meet the needs of our neighbors.

BONDING GARDENS
(Sustainable Gardening)
CLP and ELCMA (Evangelical Lutheran Coalition for Ministry in Appalachia) are teaming up to bring sustainable gardening projects to the WV-W MD Synod. Congregations are being asked to team up with people from a local soup kitchen, food pantry, etc. to help them learn how to grow and preserve their own food as well as how to compost and gather seeds for the next years growing season. If you want more information on the gardening project, please contact Bethany at ELCMA.org.