Overflowing generosity:

Seminary a distribution center
for Lutheran holidays Ingathering

Processing volunteers at the seminary include, from left: Barbara Mullen, Bob Klotz, Rick Knapp and Phyllis Linn. The seminary basement looked like a department store with shelves bearing hundreds of gifts and goods.

Imagine what it would be like if one Sunday afternoon trucks begin arriving at your basement door bearing all kinds of gifts – bags of food, toys, clothing, quilts, health and sewing kits and hygiene kits for residents of several Delaware Valley institutions. In all more than $100,000 worth of goods, all gathered by many hundreds of volunteers at scores of churches, and all put together by the volunteers to help someone else.

That was the happy state of affairs for the seminary December 8. The basement of the seminary's chapel turned out to be the distribution point for Ingathering goods collected by Lutherans all over the region for thousands of deserving recipients.

For some 30 years the Ingathering, sponsored by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod has brightened the holidays for disadvantaged persons, foster children and folks in several institutions throughout the Delaware Valley. The benefactors also include citizens beyond U.S. shores through Lutheran World Relief.

The Ingathering begins with churches collecting all kinds of goods from volunteers. Some are packaged into kits or wrapped as gifts for children. Then the churches bring them to a distribution center where the goods are processed and redistributed to a wide variety of needy recipients. In all, 90 congregations took part in the Ingathering this year.

From the seminary this week some 217 bags of food were taken to six pantries in congregations around the synod – Little Zion in Telford, PA; Zion, Spring City, PA; Christ, Upper Darby, PA; Christ, Oreland, PA, and St. John, Philadelphia's Mayfair section.

A huge assortment of clothing articles, quilts, layettes, health, sewing and school kits were trucked from the seminary to Lutheran World Relief in Windsor, MD. Driving the goods to the Baltimore area were Pastors Jesse and Sandra Brown.

Pre-employment kits were prepared for those at The Lutheran Settlement House in Fishtown (Philadelphia) who are undergoing job counseling and training. The kits include items such as an alarm clock and an appointment book.

Hygiene kits were prepared by volunteers to go to residents of Inglis House, the Ellwyn Institute, Norristown State Hospital, the Bucks County Child and Youth Center and Eagleville Hospital.

The back of Sue Pursch's car is filled with boxes of handsoap bound for the Philadelphia Seamen's Church Institute.

Eighty boxes of handsoap were collected for the Philadelphia's Seamen's Church Institute. Some 800 holiday gifts were purchased by volunteers for Lutheran Children and Family Service foster children, refugee youngsters and children who have come in contact with LCFS through its Center for the Survivors of Torture. One congregation, Trinity Lutheran Church in Fairview Village, PA, collected 150gifts for children, said Susan Pursch, a Liberty Lutheran Services executive who helped to manage the Ingathering.

Other key volunteers and workers who processed and redistributed the goods from the seminary included Barbara Mullen, who played a great role in managing the overall Ingathering, Phyllis Linn, Robert Klotz and Rick Knapp.