Paul Easterday is a newbie on staff, but he is already riding the current that Living Water Church is making in the communities in and around Northfield Township. Brought in this fall as a Family Life intern, Easterday is coordinating events that fit into Living Water's mission to encourage parents, children, elderly, teenagers and everyone in between to live out a life of faith in the home and beyond.

“I’m excited to work with Living Water; they really practice what they preach by getting in there and working directly with the community,” said Easterday. “There is always something happening that benefits others. I am proud to be a part of it.”

On November 21, Easterday will partner with Living Water’s pastor, Rev. Dan Flynn, and 20 teens -- 6th grade through senior high, to hold the first ever “Give Thanks” event.

“Thankfulness is so important, and the best way to show it is to serve God by serving others,” said Easterday.

The group will spend the day in the Whitmore Lake community collecting non-perishable food items to donate to Northfield Human Services --contributing to one of many initiatives that Living Water has sponsored for the organization in the past.

While the teens don’t expect to match the two tons of food donated by the church-wide initiative “The Church has left the building,” held in September of last year, they are confident that their collection will greatly contribute to several of the 80 families Northfield Human Services supports each week.

“The youth are excited to see how much food they can collect,” he said. “It’s great to teach them about service, and that one afternoon can make a difference to people in their own neighborhoods.”

While the teenagers scour Whitmore Lake for groceries, toiletries and cleaning supplies the parents will have a chance to come together as well. A parenting workshop is scheduled during “Give Thanks,” and is designed to address, faith, autonomy, boundaries and other issues the parents of teenagers may come up against.

“We are really trying to help people grow as an entire family,” said Flynn. “That means everyone in the home - and it’s a challenge to help your children maintain their faith with so many obstacles in our culture today.”

Paul Easterday agrees, “We want to intentionally make the events we create at Living Water to support the home, the Give Thanks Event and Parenting Workshop is a great place to start.”

How can you help? The Living Water youth will be collecting non-perishables in Whitmore Lake from 1-3 p.m. on November 21. If you are interested in donating food to Northfield Human Services or attend the parenting workshop, please contact Paul Easterday. Living Water will also be gathering donations for the annual Giving Tree which supports local families during Christmas. Go to www.livingwatermi.org for additional information.

About Northfield Human Services: Located in the heart of Whitmore Lake, NHS maintains a food pantry, adopt-a-family program, and People’s Express - which addresses the transportation needs of low-income individuals in the Northfield Twp. community. Go to the NHS Web site to learn more.

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Carly Parker is the Communications Coordinator for St. Luke Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor. St. Luke is a multi-site community which includes St. Luke-Ann Arbor, Living Water and University Lutheran Chapel. Go to www.stlukeaa.org to read more.