​On Saturday, February 20th a group of LCM students volunteered at Clemson Downs to tie blankets with the residents of Creekside Cottage, the Assisted Living part of the retirement community. Blanket tying is a reoccurring service project of LCM’s and when the opportunity arose, we thought it would be a great idea to take it a step further. A group of about 8 volunteers and I carpooled to Clemson Downs at 11 am and were escorted into the building by the events planner who started recruiting residents for us to socialize with. We broke up into two groups so that we could visit with the residents on multiple floors.  My group had about 3 women join us at one point. It wasn’t very hard to teach them how to tie the blankets, and they loved to hear that we bring the blankets to places like the children’s hospital.  While tying the blankets we had great conversations. We talked about things like our favorite movies and what we studied in school.  After about an hour, our group was tired and dissipated.  We went to join the other group that had about 6 residents surrounded around a table tying the blankets.  The residents seemed to really enjoy spending time with us, and I know we enjoyed it too.  Giving them something new to do, even for just an hour, clearly meant a lot to them.  I loved seeing their smiling faces.  I hope that LCM can volunteer there again soon!
-Lindsey Noll

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Pastor Chris and seven Leadership team members went up to Lake Keowee, January 3-5th, 2016 to plan events for the semester, get to know one another even more and to just have some fun before the start of a new semester. We were able to learn more about our team as a whole and what we wanted LCM to portray to students and the world. I love being a part of LCM, and it made me very excited to hear more about and be a part of all the “background” work that keeps LCM alive. During this retreat, we planned events such as the Wednesday night programs, social and service based events, and also discussed new ideas on how to improve LCM. We also created purpose statements for each of the leadership groups, this made me truly think about what I want LCM to be for others. This retreat wasn’t only a meeting type setting, we had a night out where we ate dinner together at O’Charley’s and also looked out at the beautiful lake. I really enjoyed the retreat, and I cannot wait for the next Leadership retreat in April! 
Candace Ballentine

​For the Wednesday night program before Easter, LCM enjoyed a Seder Meal with students from the Wesleyan church. Approximately sixty students and adults attended this event in the fellowship hall. This annual tradition offered an interesting experience before the Easter season. The many ordered parts of the meal made the meal fun to take part in. Through the meal, the story of Passover was told through the food we ate and the biblical passages we read. Matzah, horseradish, and spiced apples were different pieces of the meal that added to this tradition. I had a very good time taking part in a unique tradition while bonding with students from another campus ministry. I also enjoyed the various parts of the meal. I look forward to attending this event next year.
                                    Thomas Hustedt 

​This semester we began a small group discussion regarding confirmation because for many of us, it had been a long time since we were confirmed. What began as a five week course, now has up struggling to complete it in the semester. We take time every Monday morning to read a section of Luther’s Small Catechism and discuss what his views are. We often find ourselves caught up in wording such as, “Give us today our daily bread” from the Lord’s Prayer. Luther says, “God gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all people, though sinful.” We were caught in the idea of why there are still hungry people in the world if we are given our daily bread. But we were reminded that daily bread is not just literal food, but also the spiritual enlightenment we have the opportunity to receive. Overall, the revisiting of Confirmation Class has allowed us to dive deeper into Luther’s ideals of the 10 Commandments, The LORD’s Prayer, and the Apostle’s Creed. Many LCM-C participants were disappointed their schedule did not provide time for them to attend, so we will offer this class again in the fall.
Alice Cox