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Food Ministry supported by dedicated volunteers, grocery store chain

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No one seems to know exactly when the church started picking up food donations from Trader Joe’s grocery store, but it is believed to be about 30 years ago.

Information suggests it was initiated by Arlene Johnson who was looking for food donations for use for the Thursday night dinners and sandwich ministry being done by the church. She had contacted several different markets and found that Trader Joe’s was willing to donate their outdated and over stocked products. Arlene made arrangements to have someone pick up these items
everyday of the week.

Tuesday was the day Arlene had picked for herself along with another helper. I am primarily aware of Tuesday as that was
when my wife Judy TenHulzen began helping. The food was sorted through by them along with the help of Denise Abell-Hove who took items to the church for the sandwich ministry and Thursday night dinners. The remaining items were taken to
God’s Extended Hand for use at their mission outreach program.

In this June 2017 photo, Arlene Johnson makes tuna and
chicken salad sandwiches as a part of the Sandwich Ministry.

Eventually, two cars were not enough to handle all the excess food and that’s when Judy began using our pickup truck. When
Arlene could no longer manage the process, Judy was then looking for help and I would take time off from work to assist. When Judy could no longer work due to her medical condition, I was tasked with this job and needed help. Occasionally one of my grandsons and/or son Jeffrey would fill in. I would soon enlist
the help of LeRoy Shigley who became a permanent helper.

Our average weekly load is between 20 to 30 boxes plus bags of bread and pastries. One day we had over 55 boxes and we had to make two trips. The most I ever put on the truck was 45 boxes with bags of bread tucked behind the seat. The average number of miles driven during a year is about 1,950. The average yearly
monetary value of the food donated by Trader Joe’s is nearly one million dollars.

Editor’s Note: Additional food donations from Trader Joe’s also comes in on Thursdays and is distributed to families and individuals in need on Friday mornings by L.C. Hall and a team of dedicated community volunteers. Occasionally, other businesses also donate food items. Our food ministries feed more than 10,000 San Diegans each year.

in Faith

Re-imagining our congregational vision

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In three years from now, what will Clairemont Lutheran Church be known for?

Hopefully we will still be a beacon of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a
community of faith in this part of the City of San Diego. But what exactly does that mean? We all may have different answers to these and other questions when we take the time to think about the vision for our congregation.

For some, it may be the tried and true Classic Worship on Sunday
mornings: this is the place where you can experience the ancient ritual of the Christian faith combined with a modern, contextual take on the scripture, along with a choir and great organ music. Maybe it’s life groups and other ministries which cater more to the elderly among us, perhaps adding to our staff a visitation minister and a parish nurse. Maybe the focus is to be the best
grandparents and retirees church in the city.

Or perhaps our desire to see more children and youth in the church will blossom into programs fostering family involvement in the life of the congregation. Maybe this includes alternative forms of worship with different styles of music and different musicians. Maybe this type of worship happens on a Saturday or
Sunday evening instead of Sunday morning. Perhaps the goal is to be the best Sunday School and Youth program in our area.

Could Clairemont Lutheran Church be the community of faith for the working adult, the busy family, or the college student?

This congregation is blessed with a rich history of faith and community outreach. We were blessed by founders who gave us a landmark church campus, and now it’s time for us to continuing building physically and spiritually for the next generation of those who will call Clairemont Lutheran Church their community of faith. Perhaps it’s time to step out in faith and volunteer more and increase our giving.

These are just some of the things we as a congregation could consider when we are thinking about the vision of our faith
community. A simple plan of maintaining what we’ve done in the past may not be the best guidance for the future. Rather, we should look deep into our hearts and ask what we want our
congregation to mean to us and those in the Clairemont community this year, next year, and the next several years after that. What legacy do we want our congregation to have?

But first, we must recognize what God is calling us to do. Then we must prayerfully decide how we, individually and collectively,
will respond to God’s call.

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