Feed My Sheep3 min read

“The third time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep’” (John 21:17).

In January 2021, St. Paul’s New Boston Christian Care committee met with a group of congregation members who were inspired by the Spirit to use the God-given talent in our congregation to reach out to our community and share the love of Christ.

St. Paul’s, like many Lutheran congregations, has always been passionate about food and feeding others. Historically, events held by the congregation involving the community have always centered around food/meals. Christian Care acted on this strength in our congregation and began Feed My Sheep, a ministry to reach out to members of the congregation and our community in sharing the love of Christ.

Cook teams were organized, and in the middle of a pandemic, personal protective equipment was used for the safety of those making meals as well as those we served. We started with our prayer list and shut-ins to “test” the procedures. Meals were cooked and packaged and calls were made to those we identified from the congregation. Deliveries were made by eager members to share Christ’s love. We began with 11 meals delivered our first week in February, to nearly 80 meals per week being delivered currently.

We developed partnerships with our local school district, community emergency management, local VFW, local American Legion, and others to help identify those in need. Physical need isn’t our only focus, but anyone who may know someone, is thinking about them, and cares enough to share. We have several seniors in our community who have financial means for food, but love that we call and stop by with a meal for them weekly. We reached out to some local group homes and deliver meals as well as perishable and non-perishable items from our food pantry with them.

We also share God’s Word in devotionals which are added to every delivery made. Our social media presence has brought community members to us, where they wouldn’t have had a connection before. Some referrals received come from those we feed, wanting to share the joy they receive from the ministry with others.

Our food pantry has also grown substantially through the generosity of the congregation, and we are seeing an increase in those we support every month as well. We receive support from Forgotten Harvest and Panera Bread to subsidize the stock, which allows us to share perishables as well as non-perishables with the community.

On July 17th, Feed My Sheep held a Veteran’s luncheon, honoring local veterans for their sacrifice for our freedom. All who attended were pleased to be able to have a place to fellowship with others and share a meal. Future events are being planned for the veterans and other groups in our community to spread the love of Christ.

God has truly blessed our congregation in this ministry as we serve Him with joy-filled hearts and touch the lives of others.

_{Photos of veterans’ luncheon courtesy of St. Paul’s, New Boston}