St. Paul School and Preschool has been awarded a $5,000 mission grant from the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) for religious curriculum materials and resources.
The school’s grant proposal, submitted by kindergarten teacher Bethany Bogle, was ranked in the Top 10 among all applications submitted to the LWML CNH (California, Nevada, Hawaii) District. The $5,000 award represents a significant investment in the spiritual education of St. Paul’s student body.
“I’m thrilled that our proposal was selected for funding,” said Mrs. Bogle. “This grant will allow us to provide every student with their own Enduring Faith curriculum materials, helping them develop a personal connection with Jesus that they can share with their families.”
The Power of Mite Boxes
The LWML funds mission grants through Mite Box offerings — small containers where Lutheran women and families collect loose change and donations throughout the year. This tradition, based on the Biblical account of the widow’s mite in Luke 21:1-4, has supported Lutheran missions since the early 1800s.
The LWML, formally recognized by the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod (LCMS) in 1942, now funds over $1 million in mission grants nationally. What began as $6,651.31 collected from 92 Ladies Aid societies in 1930 has grown into a powerful force for Gospel outreach.
Strengthening Faith Formation
The grant will fund Enduring Faith workbooks and materials for all students, and Bibles.
Principal Ruth Sebastian expressed deep gratitude for both the grant and Mrs. Bogle’s initiative in pursuing the funding.
“We are incredibly thankful to the LWML for their generous support of our mission to nurture believers, equip scholars, and connect families,” said Mrs. Sebastian. “I’m also grateful to Mrs. Bogle for believing so strongly in our school that she dedicated the time and effort to prepare such a thoughtful grant proposal. This funding will have a lasting impact on our students’ spiritual formation.”
Special Presentation
District President Roxan Schwab of the California-Nevada-Hawaii District Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) delivered the grant on Aug. 13 during chapel on the first day of school.
President Schwab witnessed the power of this grant when our kindergartners and third-graders all received new Bibles!
Mrs. Bogle said the impact has been immediate: “My kindergartners who finish their classwork early have been pulling out their Bibles to read and are already asking lots of questions about the pictures they’re looking at. God is already at work in their young hearts, and we owe a huge thank you to the LWML for helping to make this happen.”
Students also went home with Mite Boxes after chapel, and three turned theirs in before Aug. 15! We’re in awe of how quickly they’ve put what they learned into action.
St. Paul School and Preschool has been serving Merced County families since 1991. The school is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and National Lutheran School Accreditation (NLSA), and affiliated with the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod.
