A grant from Aid Association for Lutherans allows the church to put turkeys in holiday baskets. And collections at St. Andrew, Audubon, and St. Peter's, North Wales, provide Christmas toys for children up to age 15 from more than 60 local families. The partnerships are important because their donations add more quality to what we are doing. It's not just giving them a can, it's giving them a full meal, something they can really enjoy. Working together to provide ministry that either partner would be unable to do by itself is a hallmark of Urban Mission Partnerships.
Some partnerships are long-term.
Christ Lutheran in Kulpsville and Mediator Lutheran in Philadelphia have worked together for 20 years on exchanges including a week-long Bible School, with city children staying in suburban homes. Other partnerships respond to urgent needs. Partnerships are easy to begin, with simple, small steps, and can develop as far as the partners' interests and abilities can take them. Whatever form a partnership takes, it is a lens through which partners see not just themselves more clearly, but their role within the whole body of Christ.