Service & Outreach
ULC is part of the Family Promise network congregations.
Family Promise’s mission is to help end childhood homelessness by mobilizing community resources to provide support for families to gain affordable housing to live self-sufficiently.
ULC members and friends in our community volunteer to prepare meals, dine and socialize with the families in our accommodation, and provide grocery needs for the week. In this way, families experience safety and stability as they gather resources for their graduation toward sustainable home-fullness.
Family Promise of Gainesville boasts a 90% success rate, measured by how many families maintain housing one full year after graduating from the program.
Being a Family Promise host congregation is a gift that leads us to embrace and share the love of God in Jesus Christ, as God empowers us. It strengthens our Gainesville community by helping keep families whole and healthy. And it expands and enriches our church community by engaging with our diverse population.
If you’d like to share in this experience, please contact the Family Promise Coordinator at amy_schirmer @yahoo.com.
For more information about Gainesville Family Promise, or to donate directly, visit http://www.familypromisegvl.org/
Baker Interfaith Friends
Baker Interfaith Friends is a visitation ministry offering a compassionate presence and friendship to people held in detention in Baker County. Opportunities include visiting, letter-writing, and prayer, in partnership with others from our Gainesville community.
Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice
ULC is a member of IAIJ ( Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice) and as such members make monthly trips to the Baker County Detention Center (one of the ten worst in the country according to LIRS (Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service).
Learn more about IAIJ and LIRS here!
Kaiser Garden Harvest
The Kaiser Vegetable Garden was begun by a Lutheran Student Gator in the early 2000s and continues to thrive with the gentle nurturing by members of the congregation under the expert guidance of Andrew Noss.
The produce is offered to St Francis House in Gainesville which serves hundreds of free meals to homeless individuals on a daily basis.
The St Francis House mission is to engage the homeless in achieving stability, self-sufficiency, and a viable plan for the future by providing a safe, stable environment, access to essential services, supportive connections, and to advocate for changes that address the needs of the human population.
Field & Fork Food Bank
Every Sunday a grocery cart is filled with food donations for the University of Florida Campus for students and staff Learn more about Field & Fork here.
Grace Market Place
Members of our congregation regularly collect food and clothing for the homeless residents. Learn more about Grace Market Place here.
Alcoholics Anonymous
ULC hosts AA groups twice a week. Mondays at 7pm and Saturdays at 7pm. Find out more information and support here.
The title of the Lazarus Project refers to the New Testament character Lazarus. In chapter 11 of the Gospel of St. John, Lazarus is raised from the dead by Jesus after having been entombed for four days. Otherwise, nothing in the film's plot parallels the New Testament story; in fact, the film's protagonist rebels against those who "raised" him from the dead, something inconceivable for the character Lazarus.
ULC members currently sponsor 16 children at the Village of Hope School as part of the Lazarus Project.
The cost to sponsor one child is $480 a year. This can be paid annually, quarterly, or monthly at $40 a month. Another option is for two or three people to share a sponsorship of a child.
Watch the progress on the poster in the Narthex. As sponsorships are renewed a "smiley face" will appear on the large heart. Let's continue to try to match or beat last year's number of sponsorships!
For additional information contact Janet Janke, Lazarus Project Coordinator at University Lutheran Church, at 352-372-8610.
Churchwide Global Activities
The wider ELCA is deeply invested in global missions. Click here to learn more information about the where and how Lutherans are serving around the globe!
Florida-Bahamas Synod (FBS) Global Activities
The Florida-Bahamas Synod has 5 Companion Relationships. Click on each of the companion names to learn more and to view photos related to accompaniment activities:
- The ELH – Eglise Lutherienne d’Haiti
- The ELCG – Evangelical Lutheran Church of Guyana
- The ELKS – Evangelical Lutheran Kierke in Suriname
- The IEU-SL – Iglesia Evangelica Unida en Cuba – Sinodo Luterano
- The UTCWI – The United Theological College of the West Indies (UTCWI) in Jamaica, a primary training facility for Lutheran clergy in the Caribbean
Click here if you would like to explore more ways to be involved with global mission work at the synod level.