Jane Greenwood, secretary at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, North Easton, Mass., rocks out with her new granddaughter, born on Christmas Eve.Ed Jeppson, who rocked for a total of five hours, set aside time for helping in the kitchen.Holy Trinity, North Easton, Mass., and Prince of Peace, Brockton,, Mass., partner to support LSS programs -- and have lots of fun 

On a crisp, sunny Saturday in January, the Fellowship Hall at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, North Easton, Mass., was rockin' as 34 adults and children settled into rocking chairs or mounted rocking horses to celebrate the 140th anniversary of Lutheran Social Services (LSS). More than $3,700 was raised during the eight-hour rockathon and the Wii bowling in the children's chapel, which will directly support the ministry of LSS in southeastern Massachusetts.
Kitchen volunteers were kept busy as people lined up for an assortment of sandwiches and baked goods provided by the women of Holy Trinity and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in nearby Brockton, Mass.

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Women from St. John Lutheran Church, Sudbury, Mass., assemble fleece lap blankets for Florence House, Worcester, Mass., an LSS program for homeless teen mothers and their children.In December, the Women's Group of St. John Lutheran Church, Sudbury, Mass., "Tied One On," making nine adult and 10 child-size fleece lap blankets as Christmas gifts for the moms and tots of Florence House, Worcester, Mass., one of two teen parent programs operated by Lutheran Social Services (LSS). Twelve women gathered on a Friday evening to cut, tie and gift wrap the blankets. In a recent e-mail, Tina Cole, assistant program manager of Florence House, wrote: "The moms and kids absolutely loved their blankets, and they use them every day!"

Volunteers from St. John actively support LSS programs in Worcester. The congregation's Youth Group plans to deliver Easter baskets to Florence House Sunday, April 1, as well as return to Emanuel Village Sunday, May 6, for another "Wii" lunch.

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Jonah Greenwalt from Congregation Or Atid with his nursery charges at Peace Lutheran Church, Wayland, Mass.Peace Lutheran Church, Wayland, Mass., shares an Interfaith Hospitality Network site with its next door neighbor, the Jewish Congregation Or Atid. However, that's not all the two houses of worship share. In addition to a parking lot, they also jointly sponsor discussion groups and studies. And a high school student from Or Atid, Jonah Greenwalt, is Peace's beloved Sunday morning nursery attendant. Read more about this special relationship in the story written by Kim Canning, a writer who is a member of Peace, for the Wayland / Weston Town Crier.

A cooling scarfU.S. troops deployed to the Middle East often face intense temperatures of 130 degrees and higher. As a way to support one troop serving in Afghanistan, six women from Bethel Lutheran Church, Auburn, Mass., got together last fall to assemble cooling scarves, which soldiers tie around their neck for some relief from the blistering heat.

A cooling scarf, which feels like a cool wet cloth on the back of the neck, is a strip of cotton woven fabric that has been filled with nontoxic polyacrylamide granules concealed in the casing of the scarf. When the scarf is soaked in water for 15-30 minutes, the granules absorb the water, expand 400 times and turn into a crystalline gel. The cotton fabric absorbs water from the gel, and then the water evaporates for a cooling effect. Scarves stay cool and moist for hours due to the polyacrylamide's water-retaining properties. When the scarves are allowed to dry, the gel returns to crystal form.

The Bethel group began the project at the request of Amy Incera, as a way to help a troop in which an old family friend of the Inceras is serving. Incera's goal is to create 104 cooling scarves, explained Dianne Marcotte, chair of Bethel's Social Ministry Team. With the team's help, the women completed about 20 scarves, with more to come. Learn about the scarves and other ways to support our troops at http://soldiersangels.org.