Community Concerns

The Community Concerns team is responsible for coordinating Grace’s efforts to assist those less fortunate in the general Wilmington, Newark, and Hockessin areas. Grace reaches out to the community in many different ways, including the following:

Alternative Gift Market

This project collects funds to purchase a wide variety of gifts, from livestock to school supplies, to benefit local and global organizations.

Boy Scout Troop and Cub Scout Pack 959

 Grace provides meeting and storage space, as well as adult leadership.

Emmanuel Dining Room

Grace members prepare and serve one meal per month at this facility, which is operated by the Ministry of Caring. Cooks prepare the meal at Grace on Tuesday evening, and servers go to Emmanual Dining Room on the first Wednesday of each month to help.  Cookie bakers are also needed to provide dessert.

Family Promise of New Castle County

This ecumenical program comprised of 13 host churches and many support churches, seeks to provide homeless families with a place to stay and the resources to get back into a home of their own. Grace will be hosting families at the church, giving them meals and a place to stay during the week while they attend the Day Center and receive assistance in finding work, clothes and the many resources that they have lost.  These families are treated with dignity and respect at every host church.  Grace will host 2-3 times a year for a week.   

Habitat for Humanity

Building and remodeling houses for low-income families in the local area. Grace also contributes funds and workcrews to Habitat on a monthly basis.  Youth and adults have participated in Habitat for Humanity in Pennsylvania for one week in June.

Hilltop Lutheran Neighborhood Center

This is an inner-city center which provides daycare, tutoring and recreational activities for at-risk children. Grace contributes funds, school supplies, and Christmas gifts to the Center, and has held fundraisers to support the Center’s programs.

Hockessin Community Center

Grace contributes funds and Easter and Thanksgiving baskets for this center, which offers food, housing and utility aid for families in the nearby area. We coordinate and deliver these items.

Lutheran Campus Ministries

Grace supports this ministry at the University of Delaware by supplying meals and funds during the school year.

Lutheran Community Services

Grace contributes food and funds to LCS, which provides social services to those in need. Members also participate in the annual 5K Walk/Run every September to raise funds for LCS. 

Lutheran Senior Services

This agency provides affordable housing for low-income seniors at Wilmington’s Luther Towers I and II. Grace contributes leadership and support for this agency. Members also contribute help in providing medical drivers and volunteers.

Prison Ministries

Through the support of the Saturday women’s Bible study group, the Angel Tree project collects Christmas gifts and clothing for children of inmates. In addition to coordinating the collection, it also delivers the gifts and treats to those who are receiving them.

Sunday Breakfast Mission

This Mission provides breakfast, an evening meal, spiritual guidance, a shower and a safe place to sleep for Wilmington’s homeless. Grace contributes donations to the Mission, along with toiletries and men’s shoes throughout the year.

Shoes2Share

Grace collects gently used shoes for Men, Women & Children.  Shoes2Share then collects them from the church and sends them to Haiti.  A collection box for shoes is in the coat closet just off the narthex.

Support for Local Organizations

Grace provides meeting space for local groups, including:

• Countryside Garden Club
• Dulcimer Group
• Children & Family First
• Girl Scouts
• Mom’s Club
• Nursing Mothers
• Square Dancers
• Quail Ridge Homeowners Association