As part of the Church, we perform our work in response to Jesus Christ and as an extension of His ministry.
We recognize the equality of all persons in our offering of services and the opportunity for services, advocating justice and seeking to develop and balance all resources at our disposal to serve vulnerable persons with more intense needs.
We recognize and value the life and inherent worth of each person, helping individuals experience dignity and the fullest level of his or her physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and vocational ability.
We value and demonstrate honesty, integrity, fairness and trustworthiness in all of our relationships.
We seek to deliver services of the highest quality possible by demonstrating competence, continuous improvement, innovation and creativity.
We exercise faithful stewardship of our financial resources and physical assets, and are responsible and accountable for their proper deployment in the work of our ministry.
Adopted by LHS, Inc. Board of Trustees,
June 8, 2000
As part of the Church, we perform our work in response to Jesus Christ and as an extension of His ministry.
“But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faithapart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.” James 2:18
Lutheran Homes Society values faithfulness to Christ. Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines faithfulness as being “steadfast in affection or allegiance.” In other words, we are committed to being steadfast in our affection for and allegiance to Christ in our daily ministry. This affection and allegiance compels us to follow our Lord Jesus' instruction given in John 13:34, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another.”
When we focus our lives on Christ and His love, we respond to that love in our daily ministry. Whether we prepare meals, provide therapy, keep records or answer the phone, we not only proclaim our faithfulness to Christ, but we live it. Just as God, through the person of Jesus, proclaimed His love for us in His birth, ministry, death and resurrection, we continue that ministry of love as we care for youth and elderly throughout northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan in His name.
As the key text in James points out, our works are a natural outgrowth of our faith, and the gift of faith comes to us solely by the grace of God and not by our own initiative.
At Lutheran Homes Society ministries, we value and are steadfast in our faithful commitment to do the Lord's work.
We recognize the equality of all persons in our offering of services and the opportunity for services, advocating justice and seeking to develop and balance all resources at our disposal to serve vulnerable persons with more intense needs.
“So God created humankind in His image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.”
Genesis 1:27
We recall the Genesis story of how God created us in His image, which lends well to our value of Equality of all persons in service and in serving. Because we're all created in the image of God, we have an inherent equality with each other. Since we're equal in God's eyes, we should seek and receive fair and equal treatment in all of our relationships. The last seven of the Ten Commandments clearly set down the rules of relationships with our fellow man.
In the justice arena, we advocate directly with our legislative representatives and indirectly through our professional and church associations. We're blessed with legislative efforts helping us to conform to standards of employment and fair housing; serving as guideposts for us as we develop policies and procedures in our ministries. We listen to concerns and resolve conflicts in an environment of understanding and openness.
Rev. David Miller, past speaker at LHS' annual meeting offered this reminder: “We not just roles, relationships or the places we're from. We're children of God, treasured and valued by Him, which gives us equality in His eyes.” We can do no less than treat all persons with equality and justice: to “… do what is right and just!”
We recognize and value the life and inherent worth of each person, helping individuals experience dignity and the fullest level of his or her
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:10
God so loved each of us, His workmanship, that He was not willing that any should die in separation from Him. He sent his only son, Jesus, to die in our place, bringing the gift of salvation to those who believe in Him. Through our salvation in Christ, we are created anew, and the sins which would permanently separate us from God are washed away and we are whole. In this new wholeness of life, we respond to God, becoming servants in the body of Christ, by valuing and serving others.
Throughout His ministry, Jesus set the example of how we ought to value wholeness of life. Scripture passages abound where Jesus.....
healed people of· physical ailments
healed people of mental· ailments
recognized his· disciples' emotional need to be close to him
met the spiritual needs· of people thirsting for everlasting life
showed concern for all· needs.
(Matthew 15:30, Luke 8:35, John 14:3, John 4:14, Matthew 7:12)
Just as Jesus valued wholeness of life in His ministry, Lutheran Homes Society values the life and worth of each individual in our ministry. The Society strives to meet physical needs by tailoring care to an individual's needs – whether that means one-on-one physical therapy or arranging for a housekeeping service to assist an independent living resident.
For many residents, valuing wholeness of life also means that we focus on caring for the mind through physician services and psychiatric and psychological evaluation and treatment. Additionally, as part of caring for the mental dignity of individuals, we endeavor to meet the emotional needs of residents through personal interaction and contact through extensive socialization activities and events.
Beyond the body, mind and emotions, we strive to nourish the spirit. Through our campus chaplaincy programs and our Corporate Spiritual Care program, residents, employees and all those related to our ministries can find reassurance of their salvation through Jesus Christ.
Can there be greater joy than serving God as His workmanship created anew in Christ? Can there be greater joy than imitating Jesus through our value of Wholeness of Life? How blessed we are indeed!
We value and demonstrate honesty, integrity, fairness and
trustworthiness in all of our relationships.
“He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do my will.' From this man's seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior - Jesus -…” Acts 13:22-23
God was faithful to send His only Son, perfect and sinless in every way, to take away the sin of the world through his death and resurrection. As we remember the perfect sacrifice, we are reminded of perfect integrity – that of our God.
After sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, God promised He would send a Savior to take away our sin and restore our relationship with Him. We claim and can trust God's promise to take away our sin and save us from death when we put our faith in Our Savior, Jesus.
Just as we trust God, at Lutheran Homes Society, residents, staff, donors, volunteers and friends are trusting us. Integrity is essential to the relationship. They must know that we will keep our promises. We have promised to care for youth and elderly, to be a faithful and fair employer, to gather and disburse money equitably, to appreciate the work done on a volunteer basis and to keep our friends apprised of the ministry. People are counting on us!
We seek to deliver services of the highest quality possible by demonstrating competence, continuous improvement, innovation and creativity.
“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men…”
Colossians 3:23
Occasionally, there are times when we wish we weren't responsible for a certain task. Maybe it's making a telephone call to share bad news or cleaning the same messy floors day after day. In Colossians, God asks us to look at our work from a different perspective. He asks us to do our work, our ministry, with His perspective. We make the difficult phone call because we care, as God cares, for the person on the other end. We clean the floors because we care, as God cares, for those who walk across them.
At Lutheran Homes Society, we take seriously the Colossians message. We minister heartily, not to please men, but to serve God. This perspective challenges us to deliver services as if we are ministering directly to our Lord. We look beyond personal imperfections and limitations to deliver services of the highest quality possible.
Because we are committed to demonstrating competence, we train and encourage continuing education for all employees and strive to provide the tools that allow each employee to serve to the best of their ability. Because we seek continuous improvement, residents, staff, families and friends of the Society will notice changes in the way we work that align our ministry with the best practices available.
Delivering services of the highest quality possible not only demands that we meet or exceed the known best practices, it means that we foster an environment of innovation and creativity. Each employee is charged with both understanding his or her job so it may be performed with competence and speaking up when he or she has an idea that will improve it. We are always seeking new ideas and new ways of serving that will improve the lives of those for whom we care.
At Lutheran Homes Society, we work heartily because through serving others we serve our Lord. Certainly our Lord, who has blessed us with the resources and talents to serve, deserves the very best from us.
We exercise faithful stewardship of our financial resources and
physical assets, and are responsible and accountable for
their proper deployment in the work of our ministry.
“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.'
His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant…”
Matthew 25:20-21
Webster's dictionary defines a steward as one who “manages another's property or financial affairs.” In other words, stewards are not owners, but managers of another's belongings. In same way, at Lutheran Homes Society, we are stewards, not owners, of God's resources. In this ministry, our physical and financial resources belong to God, and we are called to be stewards, or managers, of these resources. The Matthew 25 text shows us how we are to care for the resources (talents) we have been given.
To be good managers of God's resources, we must do more than simply protect them. The servant who protected his lord's resources by hiding the talents in the ground was rebuked and called a “wicked and lazy servant.” We are called to grow God's resources, following the example of the servant who increased his lord's wealth by gaining five talents to add to those given to him. Indeed He has richly blessed Lutheran Homes Society with an abundance of resources, most especially our staff and volunteers. The extra gifts given to our ministries make up the vital difference in providing the very best for our residents.
At Lutheran Homes Society, we carefully consider everything we do with our physical and financial resources, knowing that our careful planning and calculated risks result in accomplishing God's ministry. We conduct market studies, prepare due diligence, make prudent investments, and count on the expertise of our staff and volunteers to grow God's ministry to youth and elderly in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. Our Boards of Directors set policies and approve budgets that are responsive to the needs of those we are called to serve. As the Society does the Lord's work, we hope to hear the words that were spoken to the steward, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”