In June 2020, Rock of Ages Lutheran Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia received a COVID Food Insecurity Grant from the Southeastern Synod to fund the purchase of food for our hunger ministry.  A number of Synod congregations with food ministries received these grants which were made possible through a joint project funded by Lutheran Disaster Response and the Southeastern Synod Disaster Ministry Committee.  On behalf of Pastor Randy Palm and Rock of Ages, I would like to express our gratitude for this grant and share the story of how our congregation was able to support those at risk of food insecurity along the Memorial Drive corridor.

Our food ministry, the Memorial Drive Hunger Ministry (Pastor Palm, director), is an ecumenical ministry in partnership with St. Timothy Methodist Church, Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, All Saints Lutheran Church, Trinity Lutheran Church, and A New Thing Christian Church.  This ministry provides a daily emergency noonday meal Sunday through Friday to the Memorial Drive community of homeless, recently incarcerated, elderly persons of color, and recent immigrants.   Because of the grant, we were also able to support an ELCA immigrant mission congregation with 500 pounds of rice, dried beans, fresh chickens, and grocery store gift cards for 12 weeks. An additional 500 pounds of food was purchased for the Stone Mountain Ecumenical food pantry which serves needy families, many of whom lost jobs because of the pandemic.  Funds were also used to provide food to two single parent families of young children.  Because of the Synod grant, over 1000 meals were provided this past summer with the help of more than 25 volunteers from Rock of Ages, All Saints Lutheran Church, and Trinity Lutheran Church who spent more than 400 hours purchasing, preparing, and delivering food

All of us at Rock of Ages, our ecumenical partners, and our volunteers are humbly grateful to the Synod for the opportunity to share the Synod’s generosity with our local community during this difficult time.
 
 
Cheryl Bopp
Southeastern Synod ELCA World Hunger Chair
Member of Rock of Ages Lutheran Church
Email: cherylbopp@hotmail.com
Cell:  770-856-8464