Bible study and small service groups

Lydia Circle	Meets every second Thursday at 1:30 p.m. They gather money in a Christmas stocking to be used for special projects of their selection.
Mary - Martha Circle	Meets every third Thursday at noon. Their special projects include Confirmation banners and graduation plaques.
Ruth Circle	Meets every third Monday at 7:00 p.m.
Eternal Sisters Circle	Meets every third Thursday at 7:00 p.m. They do a number of different projects throughout the year as the opportunity arises. The unique name reflects the special Christian relationships so cherished by this group.

Quarterly Meetings

A joint meeting of all the small groups is held quarterly on the first Tuesday of February, May, August, and November, at 6:30 p.m. A supper is hosted by two circles to feed our bodies and a program is presented to feed our spirits. Each quarter a local non-profit organization is supported with an "ingathering" or donations of needed supplies.

Women of Value Celebration

Spend a Saturday with Jackie Oesch, founder of Full Value Ministries on Saturday, March 13 from 8:30 am - 3:00 pm at St. Mark Lutheran Church, Waco. There will be praise songs and Bible study around the theme of "Valued and Rescued - the Story of the Bent Over Woman." Registration is $10 for the day and lunch. Child care provided. Reservations in advance by March 5. Contact St. Mark Lutheran Church (254-754-0644) or Barbara Cook for more information.

Annual World Relief Ingathering

The LWML collected and assembled School Kits and Health Kits for the annual World Relief Drive. The congregation was asked to participate by contributing new, wrapped bars of soap. The soap is distributed in areas of poverty and disaster. "Project Comfort" is a cash donation supporting shipping of all these items from the various ingathering points around Texas to the distribution warehouses in Maryland. You can also participate in "Project Comfort" by saving cancelled stamps from your mail. Stamps are collected and sold to clearing houses to generate funds for shipping world relief collections. Clip stamps from their envelopes, leaving 1/4" paper border around each stamp. A box on the shelves at the back entrance of the church is labeled for their collection. Stamps of all kinds can be collected, but high value, special issue or foreign stamps bring the most revenue.

The 2008 World Relief drive resulted in 18 quilts, 34 school kits, 12 health kits and over 200 bars of soap equal to 216 lbs. The congregation also generously donated $178 for Project Comfort.

Trinity quilters also constructed and contributed 5 over-sized quilts to Mission Waco; and 15 lap quilts or covers to Texas Home Health Hospice.

Mites

The widows mite (Mark 12:41-44) is the inspiration for the LWML mite boxes. Members (and others) donate pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, dollars...each month. The money is sent to the Texas District LWML, where 75% of it is used for mission grants voted on by our district members in convention. 25% is then sent to national to fund grants for projects voted on at the national conventions. In 2007-2009, $1,190,000 has been pledged for national mission grants, for a total mite goal of $1,700,000, so you see that the little mites from every member all over the United States add up to a mighty big amount.

The LWML will meet in convention in Portland, Oregon on June 25-28, 2009, where national delegates will vote for new officers and a new mission goal. Click here to learn more.

More than 600 women and men joined together for the Texas District LWML 35th Biennial Convention in Houston on June 26-29, 2008. Check out the convention results and newsletters here.

Two of the new grants voted on by the delegates at the recent Texas LWML convention are for the Lutheran Braille Workers of TX and Guarding Children's Hearts, a ministry of Lutheran Social Services to provide Bibles and study materials to abused and neglected children who have been removed from their homes for their protection and living with Christian foster families. The moneys put into the Mite box will help fund these grants and more.

Membership

Membership is open to any woman who worships at Trinity Lutheran Church Waco. There are no dues, although the mites and a free will offering are collected at each circle meeting. We would love to have you be a part of LWML at Trinity, using your gifts and talents to "Serve the Lord with Gladness."

If you have any questions or need a ride to a meeting please contact the church office by email.

"Serve the Lord with Gladness"......Psalm 100:2.

The Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML) is the official women's organization of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The LWML focuses on affirming each woman in her relationship with Christ to enable her to be in ministry among the people of the world. For over 60 years the organization has been encouraging and equipping women to live out their Christian lives in active mission ministries and to financially support global missions. LWML consists of local organizations, which are members of a district organization (for us the Texas District), which are members of the national organization. Conventions are held in even numbered years for district and odd numbered years for national.