I want to be a missionary…

                                                    by Jenny Kennedy

                                                                     Executive Director

 

     I sat in church as a late twenty year old listening to the missionaries as they told their stories. I heard about their travels to far away places, sharing Gods love, and making a difference in the lives of others. That was it, I wanted to be a missionary!

     I turned and looked to the right of me, there sat my husband, and to the left of me my three small daughters, and in my arms my baby boy. Me, a missionary?  It was not possible.

     Life was busy in my walk with the Lord, as wife, mother and career person. I did become very active, as you may have guessed, in the children’s programs at church.

     In our move to South Carolina I made a career change and became a stay at home Mom. When my four children went to school I realized I had some “free” time. Rev. Tim Rogers pointed me in the direction of LICS. That was thirteen years ago. My travels may not be far, but each day I am blessed to be sharing Gods love, and being a part of an organization which is making a difference in the lives of others.

     I invite you to join us at our Spring Membership Assembly April 24, 2008. This joyful celebration and dinner will introduce you to the organization, if you are new to LICS. We will say thank you to all the supporting churches, volunteers, staff, and contributors who kept our doors open and serving in 2007.

     You truly are missionaries to our neighbors in need.                                             

In Christ we serve

 

 

Walk Through Our Doors…an opportunity to learn more about Lexington Interfaith Community Services in a one-hour informational meeting. It  is held each 3^rd Wednesday, 10:00 am, at 212 North Church Street, Lexington.  A tour of the Food Pantry and Thrift Shop is included. Walk-in guests are welcome and we love to have groups.  Other meeting times & locations can be scheduled for your church, club or business.

Call 957-6656 for information and scheduling.

 

 

LICS Spring Membership Assembly Picnic

Everyone is invited to attend on Tuesday, April 24, 2007 Lexington UMC 5:30 Registration 6:00 Program, Dinner to follow. Food by Shealy’s BBQ. Please RSVP by calling Patsy, 957-6656 ext. 225.

 

 

Ministers Roundtable gets preview of plans for new LICS facility

     Forty guests, including area ministers, attended the Ministers Roundtable luncheon, Thursday, March 6, at Lexington Town Hall.

     The LICS Board of Directors Planning and Development committee introduced Ted Talmage of Talmage Architects, and Royce Lehman, Northlake Construction Company, who presented  plans and cost estimates for the proposed facility, to be located on two acres of donated land at the intersection of Harmon Street and American Legion Road.

     Talmage explained that the proposed structure (14,000 square feet) will double the present space used by LICS. The new facility will meet present needs as well as future growth.

     Lehman presented a detailed cost estimate for the 1.4 million project. Donation of the land and professional services during the pre-construction phase will get the project off to a good start.

     The proposed building project will be presented in detail at the Spring Assembly on April 24 for vote by member churches. 

 

 

Serving Our Neighbors In Need 

Your donations and volunteer power allowed LICS to serve the communities of Lexington County,

Saluda County and part of Calhoun County with the following Social Services in 2007:

 

Social Services	2007
People Helped with Food	8,047
People Helped with Clothing	3,889
People Helped with Misc. Items	1,768
Total People Helped	13,450
Rent Assistance	46,103
Electric Assistance	70,788
Prescriptions Assistance	6,393
Heat Assistance	1,110
Water Assistance	300
Auto Gas Assistance	33
Lodging Assistance	283
Misc. Assistance	6
Food Purchased	14,068
Total Financial Assistance	$ 139,084

 

 

 

LICS Social Service HOPE (Home, Opportunities, Priorities, and Empowerment) PROGRAM presents Sewing 101 Class. HOPE  helps to prepare families who struggling to meet basic needs by turning their strengths into assets in their family life, job marketability, and job stability. Sewing 101 will provide training for people who:

• desire an improvement in their lives both socially and economically.
• want to become stable and productive members of their community.
• are willing to assess their skills objectively.
• are motivated to improve and learn new skills.
• are enthusiastic about using these improved and/or new skills for positive development in their lives.
• are willing to help foster others experiencing similar problems to theirs.

The Sewing 101 Class needs the following items: sewing machines, rotary cutters, rotary cutting mats,  sharp scissors, small thread scissors, cotton thread, tape measure, seam ripper, iron, ironing board.

 

 

Thrift Shop Needs
Flowers, Plants, and Furniture for the Parking Lot Sale. Also, Towels, Sheets, Kitchen Items, Baby Items, Furniture, Sporting Goods, Shoes, Large size clothing, Men and Boy’s Clothing.

 

 

Food Pantry Needs
Fruit, Canned Soup, Beef Stew, Chicken, Tuna, Jelly, Mac & Cheese, Cereal, Oatmeal, Canned Pasta

Call 957-6656 ext. 223 for additional volunteer or special project information.

 

The Fifth Annual Shaggin’ for LICS benefit raised over $10,000.00 for LICS. We thank everyone for making the Fourth Annual Shaggin’ for LICS evening a huge success.

Souper Bowl of Caring  As of publication date, an amount of $5,944.46 has been received.  The churches listed in italic “kicked a field goal for LICS” by giving additional dollars in 2008 over 2007.  We thank you for your generous efforts!

Bethany Lutheran Church

Bethel Church Youth

Boiling Spring United Methodist Church

Calvary United Methodist Church

Ebenezer Methodist Church Youth

Emmanuel Baptist Fellowship

First Baptist Church State Street

Holy Trinity Lutheran

Lexington Church of Christ Youth

Lexington United Methodist Church Youth

Midlands Christian Church

Mt. Horeb United Methodist Church Youth    

Northwood Baptist Youth

Pilgrim Lutheran Church

Pisgah Lutheran Church Youth

Saluda River Baptist Church

Sardis Baptist Church Youth

Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church Youth

Shiloh UMC Youth

SpringHill AME

St. David Lutheran Church Youth Ministry

St. John’s Lutheran Sr. Youth

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Youth

St. Peter’s Lutheran Church

St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church Youth

Trinity Presbyterian Youth

Zion Lutheran Church LCY

 

We apologize for any oversights.  If your church or youth group is not listed above, please check your church records and contact LICS at 803-957-6656 extension 229.  

 

Lexington’s Race Against Hunger (LRAH)

What a great race! We thank everyone for his or her support and hard work with this event. The LICS Food Pantry looks forward to receiving a portion of the profits raised. Please visit their web page at www.LEXRAH.org.

 

 

Volunteers Needed

Lexington Social Services

Lexington Thrift Shop

Lexington Community Relations

Swansea Outreach Center

 

 

Up-Coming Events

March 19^th – LICS Walk Through Our Doors

April 16^th LICS Walk Through Our Doors

April 24^th LICS Spring Membership Assembly

April 26^th LICS Thrift Shop Parking Lot Sale

April 26^th Kids Day of Lexington

May 10^th Letter Carriers Postal Food Drive

May 21^th LICS Walk Through Our Doors

May 25^th LICS Summer Food Drive

June 18^th LICS Walk Through Our Doors

 

We thank everyone for his or her time, talents, and gifts.  For it is only with each person’s contributions that we are able to continue to serve families and individuals struggling to meet their basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter.

For additional information visit our web site www.licssc.org, or call 957-6656 ext. 225.