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APPENDIX
#4 — “We
Learn to do Acts of Love!”
Out of the roots of the
Protestant Reformation, the Lutheran Church quickly became a church that
was actively involved in “Doing Acts of Love”.
From the early days in which these activities were called
“charities” to the present for of “social service”, the Lutheran
Church has the largest network of social service agencies in the world! This includes hospitals, nursing homes, homes for troubled
youth, adoption services, relocation of refugees, counseling services,
etc. In Illinois, Joy!
Lutheran Church associates with Lutheran Social Services.
The following story is an example of doing acts of love. Mary Anderson and her
husband live in Barrington, an exclusive North Western Chicago suburb
known for its golf courses and horse farms.
She is refreshingly blunt when describing herself and her
community: “We’re all pretty rich and white out here in Barrington.”
In spite of where she lives, and the social class she belongs to,
Mary goes out of her way to
connect with people who are not from her community and whose skin color
and circumstances are dramatically different from her own. Nearly every other
month, for the past seven years, Mary has been driving families to visit
their mothers, daughters and sisters at Dwight Correctional Center through
Prisoner and Family Ministry’s Family Connections Program. “The instant they get
in the car I get involved with their lives.
They welcome my being there,” she explains. “Meeting these women and talking with them—they’re just
so regular”. She likes going to the families’ homes to pick them up.
“It is a nice and instantly satisfying experience...As a
volunteer, you don’t have to go to meetings.
All you do is fill out a simple form and make a copy of your
driver’s license.” The simple act of
driving families to see their loved ones can change a family’s destiny.
“Mothers do better in prison and children have hope,” Mary
explains. Studies have shown
that if mothers stay connected with their families, they are much more
likely not to use drugs or re-offend. “Mary and other
volunteers like her make this program work,” says Pat Davis, senior
associate executive director of Prisoner and Family Ministry.
“We provided visits for 1,000 children last year because of them.
They hold so many families together during hard times.” In addition to being a
Family Connections driver, Mary is a member of Atonement Lutheran Church
in Barrington, which also supports prison ministry. |