Serving Their Community

 Shared by Rev. Steven Neal, pastor at St. Marks, St. Paul

St. Mark's Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Nebraska, like many other churches, started off the pandemic by asking, "How can we help?" 

A few of their hard working volunteers answered the call. 4 dedicated women from the congregation began making masks and since early April, have made 3,000 masks. They have distributed them all, completely free of charge. The masks have been available in the narthex of the church for anybody who would like one. 

They have also made masks for businesses in town to provide for their employees. They even made masks and custom-ordered reusable gowns out of blue tarp for the local hospital and clinic. These personal protection items can be sanitized and used as needed. All of it was given to those in need of these supplies for free.



St. Mark's, which is located right across the street from the K-12 school grounds, had taken full advantage of the opportunity to serve their community in that setting as well. They have given tremendous support to the school during this difficult time. Partnering with sewing groups from 3 other local churches, they have provided over 800 masks to the teachers and students to ensure that every student at St. Paul Public Schools had a mask available. They provided masks in 3 different sizes, both in fun prints and in the school colors. The masks provided by the church have been a much needed gift since St. Paul Public Schools require masks; a decision that wasn't made until the evening before the school year began. As the community learned of this decision, the church received and filled these additional requests.

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