Mercy Moment
Caring for Families in a Changing Community
Salem Lutheran Church, Jacksonville, Ill., shares Christ’s love with the community by providing diapers, wipes and other baby items for local families — no matter what language they speak.
As the Rev. Jonah Schultz sat on the floor reading an Arch Book aloud, two girls peered over his shoulder before settling next to him to listen and ask questions. Nearby, the girls’ mothers browsed through racks full of children’s clothing at Swaddling Clothes in Jacksonville, Ill.
Salem Lutheran Church, Jacksonville, where Schultz serves as pastor, started its Swaddling Clothes chapter in 2023 as a way to reach out to the community. On the second Tuesday of each month, volunteers host a “shopping day” for families to get diapers, wipes, clothing and other items free of charge.
Swaddling Clothes was started by LCMS pastor’s wife Katie Fiene, who later turned it into a program that could be replicated by other congregations. There are currently 30 chapters around the country that seek to stand up for the sanctity of life and share the love of Christ with their neighbors through this program.
Deaconess Linda Strubbe, director of Salem’s chapter, says that their shopping day now regularly draws 40-plus families each month. In fact, the two-hour window had become so busy for both shoppers and volunteers that Strubbe recently added a second time slot on the same day.
One of the many clients who came through the door during the July shopping day was single mother Melanie Davy, who has an 8-year-old and another child on the way: “A lot of single moms have a hard time. I really appreciate [Swaddling Clothes] because it really does help out,” she says.
The ministry welcomes whoever comes. More recently, this has included a growing number of people from Haiti, Africa and Latin America, as the demographics of the Jacksonville community change. It’s a challenge to communicate in these different languages, but the volunteers do so to the best of their ability using a translation app, patience and help from other clients.
Strubbe says the ministry couldn’t operate without a dedicated team of Salem members, who build and stock displays, wash and sort donated clothing, and assist with shopping days. Even the children from Salem’s school support this effort by periodically helping to count and bag diapers and fold clothing. School families are also welcome to benefit from Swaddling Clothes when necessary, particularly for school uniforms and during the winter coat giveaway.
“The support for this program is amazing,” Strubbe says, noting that Swaddling Clothes receives donations from area LCMS congregations and even some outside individuals and organizations. Concordia Publishing House provides the Arch Books that are included in each client’s box, for example.
When she goes shopping to restock the diapers and wipes, and “someone near me makes a comment about the size of my purchase, I promptly explain the program and invite them to tell others about us,” Strubbe says. “And on many occasions, someone I have never met hands me money to help with the purchase.”
LCMS Life Ministry also has provided funding over the years through the Life Ministry Matching Grants to help Salem’s Swaddling Clothes chapter improve its facility, which operates out of a standalone building that previously served as a temporary classroom. These grants have been used to replace windows, purchase a washer and dryer, and add air conditioning. Strubbe also used grant funds to purchase Bibles in the three languages that the chapter’s clients speak.
Schultz notes that these matching grants from the LCMS “helped the congregation get behind [the ministry] more. … Seeing that fellow Lutherans wanted to see it succeed added some excitement and buy-in.”
As this ministry continues to develop, one of Strubbe’s goals is to build deeper relationships with the families that come — so far, one family has come back for worship and another enrolled in Salem’s preschool. Schultz also hopes to explore ways that Salem members might better understand the rapidly changing demographics of their community and welcome speakers of other languages into the church.
“It is wonderful to watch the way that God is at work through this program,” Strubbe says. “God has sent the right people with the right information or skill into our path when we need it. … I am confident that God, in His perfect timing, will provide what we need [to communicate with clients who do not speak English] so that His will is accomplished.”
Learn More
- Learn more about LCMS Life Ministry
- Make a gift to support LCMS Life Ministry
Megan K. Mertz
Managing editor of Lutherans Engage the World and chief copy editor for LCMS Communications.
