Lutherans Help the Thomas Family Rehab Home in Portage

During the summer of 2007, there was a lot of action at the Thomas family's new home on West Van Hoesen Street in Portage. Teams of Lutherans from area congregations helped rebuild the home as part of a "Thrivent Builds" initiative of Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity.

A grant of $1,500 from the Prince of Peace Extended Ministries Endowment Fund gave a boost to the project. KVH Executive Director Don Jones noted after it was done that since 1983 the chapter has helped 155 families in the Kalamazoo/Portage area buy homes. Other Lutheran congregations in the area were heavily involved in the project.

After the work was done, Lolita Thomas wrote a thank you letter to all the members of her new "Habitat Family." Her words are from the heart.

     "Thanks to everyone that made this dream come true for my daughter and me. It's been a pleasure meeting such a nice group of people. I have never met so many people that were so committed to helping someone else's life be completed."

Kalamazoo County Poverty Reduction Initiative – Project Connect

The Kalamazoo County Poverty Reduction Initiative (PRI), in collaboration with the LISC Affordable Housing Partnership (AHP) organized a day of free services for low-wage earners in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. On November 17, 2010 at the Kalamazoo County Expo Center, over 1500 low income and homeless people were able to find, all in one place, free access to services to address medical, basic and personal needs, employment and education. The goal of the program was to not only provide residents to these services which in turn would immediately improve their life circumstances, but to also give people an opportunity to achieve self-sufficiency with dignity and respect. POP member Pam Burpee accepted the $500 Extended Ministries Endowment Fund grant to help further this important initiative. 

In a time where there is a shortage of dedicated church leaders, a unique program called the Summer Seminary Sampler provides for a three week exploration of ministry possibilities. One of Prince of Peace's youth, Kelsey Jones, was supported by the Prince of Peace endowment fund to take part in this life changing experience. Her time was spent performing various service projects around the Columbus, Ohio area, shadowing seminary professors and mentors, and hearing transformational stories from speakers who provided powerful, emotional and inspirational stories.

Kelsey sums up her experience when she states: “I pray that other kids, who are like me, who were searching and looking for something deeper, get to go to this program. They'll learn so much, experience so much and begin to understand the awesomeness and power that lies within a community of people who are connected to God”.