“Hear Me Read,” Christian Christmas giving that highlights children, literacy, and faith

Concordia Publishing House to provide story Bible for children in Appalachia

Saint Louis, MO—Christmas giving offers Christian people unique opportunities to share the Gospel. Concordia Publishing House (CPH), the publishing ministry for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) announced today that its 2009 Christmas emphasis will again focus on outreach to children; this year working to support faith and language development for children in Appalachia.

As part of its 2009 “simply CHRISTmas” campaign, CPH will team with its customers and the Appalachian Mission Partnership, a ministry of the (LCMS) Ohio district to provide and distribute CPH’s all new Hear Me Read Bible Stories across West Virginia. The product is a collection of the acclaimed Hear Me Read Series written by Dr. Mary Manz Simon and becomes available in the summer of 2010. Hear Me Read is a recognized children’s line that specifically supports language development and literacy. CPH has set a goal for customers to help provide 500 copies for the cause. Customers can visit www.cph.org/read to learn more and make a donation.

The campaign runs through Christmas. “Every customer, whether they shop online, over the phone, or in one of our stores will be invited to give $5, which will add one book to the goal,” shares Gretchen Jameson, who manages Public Relations for the company. “In the summer of 2010, we will work with local AMP teams across West Virginia to get the books into the hands of children. It is exciting work, and this particular resource meets specific needs to support language development, while more importantly connecting children with the love of Jesus.”

According to data available from the Ohio district, of the 1.7 million people living in Appalachia (West Virginia area), close to 1 million have no religious affiliation. “In Appalachia, traditional issues for this region such as widespread poverty and dispersed populations have impacted mission work,” shares Pastor Kevin Wilson, who serves as Mission & Ministry Facilitator for the district. “Our goal is to start 20 new congregations in West Virginia, and to work should-to-shoulder with local residents to engage in real cross-cultural mission work among the people living here.

“Human care ministry is very important to mission work here,” Wilson adds. “God’s grace is a largely foreign concept. When mission teams serve local communities, they model God’s grace in Christ. The Hear Me Read Bible Stories will allow the teams to do this by providing gifts with no strings attached, demonstrate God’s love through caring for children, and share God’s grace through the content of the books.”

In 2008, the company’s Christmas-focused “Give a Gift, Share a Gift” campaign donated more than 2,700 children’s Christmas books for the Marine Toys for Tots annual drive in the City of St. Louis. CPH worked with the Children’s Christian Concern Society, a ministry of the (LCMS) Kansas district to send and distribute over 400 Spanish-language children’s books to a mission in Guatemala.

Resource Links:

Social Media Release: http://pitch.pe/30768

Concordia Publishing House: http://www.cph.org

CPH Media Room: http://cph.mediaroom.com/

Appalachian Mission Partnership: http://bit.ly/32Tqvu

Hear Me Read Donation: www.cph.org/read

CPH on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/concordiapublishing

Concordia Publishing House is a not-for-profit publishing company and the publisher of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The company offers more than 8,000 products for use in Christian congregations, schools, and homes. Visit CPH on the Web at http://www.cph.org.

Media Resources:

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