JoAnne Gross
Since I have been at LCM, I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all of the wonderful students, alumni and most importantly members from our supporting congregations. I feel blessed to be a part of LCM and look forward to serving the ministry.
I am an active member of Grace Lutheran Church in Hockessin, Delaware where I currently serve on church council as the Congregational Life liaison. I also help support Family Promise of New Castle County during Grace’s host weeks by helping to setup, breakdown, prepare a meal or be an evening visitor. It is important to me to help families in our community who have fallen on difficult times and Family Promise is a support system for those who find themselves temporarily homeless.
Currently, I serve on Cab Calloway Band Booster’s Executive Board as treasurer. For the past five years I have enjoyed being a band parent and helping in all aspects of running a 110 member marching band. I was also recently elected to serve on First State Robotics’ Executive Board as treasurer. FIRST is a program which promotes the concept of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in our youth through creative and innovative game strategies using student designed and built robots.
I consider my greatest accomplishment in life to be raising three sons with my husband of 26 years. My eldest two are in college and my youngest is a junior in high school. Together my husband and I have always enjoyed volunteering for our children’s activities. It is our family’s belief to pay it forward to our church, school and community and we feel blessed that we are in a position to do so.
Raising three sons does not leave much room for spare time and hobbies! When I find myself with the opportunity, I enjoy crocheting, gardening, scrapbooking my children’s activities, and spending time in the summer on the Bohemia River known to our family as a little piece of heaven – a place to decompress and appreciate the beauty of God’s creation.
My greatest spiritual experience by far has been having the faith in God to leave my family and travel to Haiti to serve the poorest of the poor. I was inspired by the peoples’ faith in God and the Haitian belief that “you will never know that God is all you need, until God is all you have”. The week long mission trip was filled with life changing service opportunities, images that will remain in my heart forever, and I truly believe my family was richly blessed through my experience.
My words to live by:
Deuteronomy 15:7-8, 10-11 (NSRV)
7 If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor. 8 You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be… 10 Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”
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