Love INC at Vietnam Vets Stand Down Event

Gallatin County Love INC will be a part of the upcoming Vietnam Veterans of America Stand Down Event. 

Stand Down is an event where veterans and their families, can "stand down" (rest) and receive free services, assistance, information, provisions and hot meals.   It will be held on Saturday, June 19, 9am-3pm, at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds.  All veterans (not only Vietnam veterans) and their families are welcome; it is also open to any person in need or homeless individual.

Love INC is supplying 100 towels for the event, which will be given to people who receive free shampoos and haircuts.  Fifteen barbers and beauticians will be on hand to serve. The towels from Love INC will be a gift to keep.

In addition, Love INC will have a display table in Building 3, offering information about our available services.  For more information about this event, contact George Morales of Vietnam Veterans of America at 580-8253.

International Author & Speaker at Partner Church

Renowned author and speaker, Fr. Meletios Webber, will be in Bozeman June 18-20 to speak on the ancient Christian practice of "The Prayer of the Heart." Everyone is invited to come and hear his talks at 5 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday. 

The free presentations are sponsored by St. Anthony the Great Orthodox Church (corner of Shedhorn and Spanish Peak Dr., Four Corners area). The donation of an item for Love INC's Personal Care Pantry would be welcome. 

Counselor, psychotherapist, teacher, priest, monk and spiritual director, Fr. Meletios examines personal transformation through spiritual means. His first book, Steps of Transformation, studied the program of Alcoholics Anonymous from an Orthodox Christian point of view.  Fr. Meletios was educated at Oxford and holds a doctorate in Psychological Counseling. He currently serves as the abbot of a monastery in California. For more info: call 581-5339.

Position Opening: Relational Ministry Coordinator

Gallatin County Love In the Name of Christ is committed to developing Relational Ministry.  Therefore, Love INC is seeking to hire a committed Christian with organization development and managerial experience to help coordinate and oversee this newly forming program.  

The ideal candidate will possess a demonstrated track record of building teams, ministries or organizations, and will possess strong listening skills, excellent public speaking abilities, detailed administrative and multi-tasking skills, and familiarity with recruiting and managing volunteers.

He or she must be able to work independently and cooperatively in a disciplined and highly organized manner.  Experience in counseling or ministering directly with persons in need a plus.  Bachelor's degree (or higher) preferred. 

This is a paid position reporting to the Executive Director.  Position will remain open until filled.  20 hours/week; one year contract (to be renewed, depending upon formation of Relational Ministry).   If Relational Ministry forms in Love INC's network of churches, this position likely will become a full-time, permanent position.

As a ministry partnership of, by and for local Christian churches and their members, all staff positions at Love In the Name of Christ are filled by practicing Christians who subscribe to the faith outlined in the Apostles' Creed.

Email requests for position description and application form to lawleeloveinc @ yahoo .  com  (with no spaces, of course; we publish the email address in this manner in order to avoid becoming the target of automatically generated spam).  Or, call Love INC at 587-6395.

Please pray for God to guide and direct Love INC's search for a Relational Ministry Coordinator.

New Partner Church in West Yellowstone

The Community Protestant Church (PCUSA) in West Yellowstone became a Full Partner Church of Love In the Name of Christ at the Love INC board meeting on May 4.  What a blessing to have a partner church strategically poised and ready to respond to needs in their unique community, located at the gateway of our nation's oldest national park!

Resources from the other Love INC partner churches to the north (in and around Bozeman) and individual Christians around Gallatin County will be connected through Love INC to supply the Community Protestant Church with goods and products to serve their neighbors.  Likewise, Love INC will provide ministry/service opportunities to the church, connecting them with people with verified needs in the own community. 

Four members of the West Yellowstone congregation traveled the 90 miles to Bozeman to attend Love INC's Plant the Seed Dinner in early May.  Love INC staff and representative board members will visit the church for a Love INC Awareness Day on June 13.

Welcome, CPC of West Yellowstone!

If your church is not yet a Full Partner of Love INC, or if you are unsure whether your church is, please email us: loveincoffice@yahoo.com. All Full Partner churches of Love INC are Christian congregations that subscribe to the faith described by the Apostles' Creed.  For more information, visit http://www.loveincgc.org/.

PTS Dinner Thank You

Thank you to everyone who worked hard and contributed to Love INC's fundraising banquet on May 4! The auctions (silent and live auctions) raised more than $16,000 to support Love INC’s service to transform the lives of our neighbors in need.

Many people express interest in knowing how the dinner went.  The attendance, with 61 hosted tables, was the second highest in our 15-year history!  The Plant the Seed event as a whole raised more than $50,000 for Love INC.  Here is the breakdown (these are rounded, preliminary numbers of gross receipts):

• Table Hosts: $11,600
• Business Sponsorships: $12,000
• Auctions (live and silent): $16,200
• Offering: $14,800
• Total PTS Dinner:   $54,600

Thank you!  The commitment and gracious support of God's people are wonderful blessings!  We trust God will use these gifts to further His purposes as we seek to follow His will. 

The funds raised will be used to serve local residents who suffer a variety of needs.  During 2010, we will offer a program called "Relational Ministry" to local churches, designed to equip congregations to work with and move people with chronic needs into a new place of wholeness and ability (to move them out of chronic need).  Please pray for Love INC as we seek church involvement to build this significant program during the coming year.

Again, many thanks to everyone who has "planted the seed" for Love INC to serve and grow during 2010!

Plant the Seed Dinner Reservations

The 2010 Plant the Seed Dinner will be held on May 4 at the MSU Strand Union Ballroom.  Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for a silent auction; the dinner program begins at 6:30 p.m. 

Partner churches are submitting fantastic Theme Packages that will be auctioned either at the silent auction or in a live auction.  A full, served meal will be provided.  Ministry booths will be available for viewing Love INC activities.  Don't miss out on hearing the plans for 2010 as Relational Ministry is introduced.  Join your friends, meet the Board of Directors, find out what remarkable things God is doing through Love In the Name of Christ.

To reserve your table and gather with 500 Christians from across Gallatin County, call Love INC today or email loveincoffice @ yahoo.com (with no spaces).  This is a table hosted event - a person, couple or group serve as a table host by purchasing a table of 8 meals or a table of 10 meals, and then inviting others to join them.  A table of 8 is $200; a table of 10 is $250.  Reservations are required.   Deadline: April 26.  Call and reserve your table today!

Iowa College Loves Bozeman

Putting Love Into Action – ten students from Dordt College in Iowa came to Bozeman to serve Love INC in March.  This service group, PLIA, spent their spring break painting, cleaning, building shelves, collecting Personal Care Pantry items from the community, sorting, stocking, delivering items to clients and rearranging our office space for us.  They ministered to the elderly at Mountain View Care Center. 

They processed donated items and they delivered "thank you" gifts (shamrocks) to Love INC partner churches.  They put together and donated a Theme Basket for Love INC's upcoming Plant the Seed Dinner.  The students even purchased building materials and paint from their own funds!  So much was accomplished to enhance the ministry of Love INC! 

The students were housed at First Presbyterian Church in Bozeman where they also helped with a library book sale and prepared and served a Wednesday Lenten meal.  Dean Garbenis (Christian Center) supervised and coordinated the student outreach for Love INC. 

Love INC thanks these students: Amy Parish, Bekah Van Maanen, Bryan Visser, Derek Brumfield, Hannah Hart, Jason Stuhrenberg, Karisa Vander Groef, Kelsey Reitsma, Rachel Endicott, Stephen Pederson for all the help!  And thanks to everyone who serves in the Name of Christ! With God’s blessing, amazing things can be accomplished with willing hands and the gift of donated time and effort!