The past several years have been disastrous, literally.  Earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, floods and more have devastated areas both here in the US and around the world.  When people are forced to abruptly leave their homes because of emergencies they may not have time to pack the things they use on a daily basis.  But after a few days without these items they definitely miss them. The hygiene kits we will be assembling offer a refreshing daily boost for someone when supplies are not available.  

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Church World Service is a number of denominations working together to provide relief and assistance to struggling people throughout the world.  Because so many families have been displaced in recent months and years, the need for Hygiene Kits is prevalent at the moment. Some years we might be working on Clean-Up Buckets or School Kits, but this year we are helping to stock the shelves that have been depleted of these personal care items. In the face of natural disasters, violence, or grinding poverty, Hygiene Kits can mean the difference between sickness and health for struggling families.

To assemble a Hygiene Kit you will need:

• One hand towel measuring approximately 16” x 28” (no fingertip or bath towels)

• One washcloth

• One wide-tooth comb

• One nail clipper

• One bar of soap (bath size, unscented) in wrapper

• One toothbrush (in original packaging)

•    Six (6) standard size Band-Aids®

Place all items in a one-gallon plastic bag with a zipper closing, remove excess air from the bag, and seal.  Please do not add toothpaste to the Hygiene Kit.  Cartons of toothpaste that have an extended expiration date will be added to Hygiene Kit shipments just prior to shipment.  Please use unscented soap...Ivory prefered. Please do not substitute items, as they will not be used. If incorrect items are donated, LINC will donate those to Exodus Homes kits.  LINC will purchase the bags and pay the postage and do the shipping. We will select a LINC church at a later date to meet and assemble the kits, box the packets, and dedicate them before they are sent.  

The season of Lent is upon us. Some people give up chocolate or Facebook for Lent. And some people take on a practice that brings them closer to God. The Green Committee would like for you to consider choosing a way to honor the earth during this season of reflection and preparation for Easter. Please choose from the following list whichever intention speaks to your heart most – or DO ALL OF THEM!

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1. Eat at least one meatless meal per week or eat no meat for one day per week. We discussed during Advent how this helps the planet and our bodies.                                                                        

2. Don’t use plastic straws. 500 million straws are used and discarded every day in the United States alone. That’s 175 billion straws a year filtering into landfills (environment) and littering our waterways and oceans. There are a lot of excellent portable options for straws!                             

3. Try not to purchase new clothes – especially “fast fashion” clothing. The fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined. Also, it produces 10% of all humanity's carbon emissions, is the second-largest consumer of the world's water supply, and pollutes the oceans with microplastics. 85% of textiles go into landfills each year. Hickory has a lot of good thrift shop options if you need a new Easter outfit :)                                       

4. Put aside a quarter each time you do something “green” for our good earth. On Easter Sunday, we’ll collect this money and use it to help pay for actual green things – plants for the church and tools and supplies needed to grow them.                                                                                                      

See Dana Rhyne if you have any questions about the Green Team’s Lenten initiative.

It is almost time to plant our garden boxes! Although the Green Committee has ideas on how to utilize the boxes, we’d like to offer you the opportunity to adopt a box yourself! If you are interested, please see Dana Rhyne. Note: if you adopt a box, you will need to make sure that it gets watered and weeded and harvested.

Save-the-Date: Our next NETworX Meal (usually baked potatoes and salad but doesn’t have to be) is Monday, May 11.  A HUGE thank you for all of you who participated in this outreach ministry, particularly at the last minute!  What an amazing group of people we have in our congregation!