Each week our Brown Bag Ministry prepares brown bag lunches that are distributed to the homeless by local nonprofits and individuals. Each lunch is created to feed the body and share the good news of God’s love and salvation through Jesus.
Astoria Helping Hands is a residential program helping drug and alcohol-free people reenter the workforce. They operate seven days a week. Astoria Helping Hands provides breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Bethany’s brown bags are used for lunch with Helping Hands adding a PB&J sandwich and fruit. They use 60 to 120 brown bag lunches a week.
Seaside Helping Hands is a drop-in center open Monday thru Friday from 8:30am to 4pm. They provide cereal (hot and cold) for breakfast and snacks like bagels and donuts. Bethany’s brown bags are used for lunch and a person can have only one a day. They also add a PB&J sandwich and fruit. The manager said the people really enjoy the “Jesus Loves You” stickers on the applesauce and the Bible verses. They hand out around 200 brown bags a week. During cold weather they also provide a warming shelter for the night.
Join us Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m. to pack lunches and lift those who receive them in prayer.
The military has invaded!
Tuesday June 4th beginning at 11:30 AM, U.S. Navy Sailors and Marines arrived at Bethany Lutheran Church eager to help with the Brown Bag lunch program for the homeless. All told 30 sailors and marines showed up and helped pack lunches, as well as prep food items for future lunches.
After the military quickly assembled the weekly demand of 200 lunches, women of Bethany served a luncheon fit for a king to those that came, which included gourmet cupcakes for dessert. Afterwards while items for hundreds of future lunches were prepared, a naval officer and longtime member of Bethany Lutheran went back and forth playing various piano pieces to entertain the troops and brought smiles all around. The church members who came to work alongside of the military all commented how respectful, helpful, and courteous the troops were.
Being the first official port visit to Astoria in twelve years by the Navy, Paul Davis of Lektro, which is one of Warrenton’s largest manufacturing companies, helped to link sailors and marines who wanted to volunteer to help local non-profits give back to the community. Bethany Lutheran Church jumped at the chance to partner with the military to help address the ongoing homeless crisis. The historic Astoria Armory building once used to entertain the troops with the USO during WWII became the sight of a hometown welcome to many other sailors and marines. Many volunteers as well as local businesses such as Lektro, Fort George, Buoy Beer, and even local dance studios made donations to help feed and entertain the crews from multiple American and Canadian ships arriving and heading to Portland for the annual Fleet Week celebrations. The troops all seemed to enjoy themselves, as well as demonstrated a level of professionalism that made the civilians in attendance proud to be guarded and supported by these fine men and women.
