With the pandemic impacting millions of people around the world, it would be easy to allow ourselves to be drawn further and further into isolation.

As followers of Jesus, however, we know that we are not isolated. As followers of Jesus, we know that we are called to see the stranger and the disenfranchised, the hungry and the hurting, the prisoner and the outcast as neighbors and fellow members of the body of Christ. As followers of Jesus, we know that we are called to use our gifts for the building up of the whole community. We are the church, not simply for ourselves, but for the sake of the world.

Now is the time for us to lift up our eyes and see the opportunities that are before us to be God’s heart and hands in a hurting world. Now is the time to open our hearts, to lift up our voices, and to share our gifts and be the church together for the sake of the world.

The tabs below provide resources to help you participate in our Synod Church Together for the Sake of the World Projects and to assist you in developing a project in your community. For questions about how you can get involved, contact Pastor John Wertz, Jr at: wertz@vasynod.org. Thank you for sharing your gifts to proclaim God’s love to the world!

This year, the Virginia Synod helped launch our first new congregation in many years. The congregation is called Micah Street Church: a Community of Hope and is located in Fredericksburg.

Micah Street Church is an ecumenical congregation focused on individuals experiencing homelessness. The Rev. Carey Connors, from the Episcopal Church, serves as the congregation’s pastor and developer.

While the pandemic has shifted how the community meets for worship, the congregation is providing a powerful witness of hope for their neighbors.

One of the needs that have emerged since the congregation launched is the need to provide bibles for church participants. Needing more bibles to distribute is a good problem to have and it is one that as a Synod we can help solve.

Since we were not able to welcome Micah Street Church to the Synod as a part of this year’s Synod Assembly, we can let them know that we are all church together by helping provide bibles for this emerging community.

You can provide an NRSV Bible to Micah Street Church by making a $10 gift using the link below. Please be sure to include the name of your congregation and location in the note/memo lines, so the folks at Micah Street Church can know all the congregations that are providing Bibles.

We are no longer accepting applications for the 2020 Virginia Synod Daily Bread Matching Grants. If you have any questions, please contact The Rev. John Wertz Jr at wertz@vasynod.org