Christus Victor Lutheran Church

Christus Victor’s Tanzania Partnership Committee has changed its name to Christus Victor Missions Committee. This name change will empower our committee to build on CV’s strong partnership with the Mlowa parish in Tanzania and explore other mission opportunities. Stay tuned for more information about the Kids Alive Program, a nonprofit working with orphans in the Dominican Republic. If you can’t wait to find out more, contact Jody McDermott-Baty.

Sponsor a Student; Change a Life

If ever you wanted to make a difference in the life of a child, a family and an entire village in our partnership congregation, seize this opportunity to give a Tanzanian secondary student a year of education. A year of education costs $350 and, sadly enough the average annual income of a Tanzanian is $350. Currently, members and friends of Christus Victor sponsor 23 students! Because of the generosity of these donors, 23 students have a chance to improve their lives and the lives of their families. In a few weeks, we will send out letters to all of the student sponsors thanking them for the year of education and asking for their continued support. There are more students who could use the help. Each year, Pastor Lungelo Mbwilo and a committee must make the difficult decision on who receives a scholarship and who must wait. Let’s make his decision easier. Please prayerfully consider giving a child a year of education. Opportunities exist for half or even quarter sponsorships! Team up with friends and family and pool your resources. For more information, contact Dawn Youngner or call the CV office at 952-454-6927.

CV Garage Sale Raises More Than $16,000 and Will Help Raise Crops in Mlowa, Tanzania!

Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime. Author Unknown

The August Redeemed Treasures Garage Sale at Christus Victor raised an amazing $16,400 due to the hard work and donations of the volunteers of CV. Did you know that a small portion of the proceeds will help teach people in Mlowa Tanzania how to feed themselves more efficiently and effectively? Our partnership congregation was invited by agricultural experts from the Institute of Agriculture of Tumaini University in Iringa, Tanzania, to participate in a three-year project designed to improve the way they farm. All that stood in the way of their participation was money - $2000 each year for the next three years. And, with the CV Council’s approval, funds from the Garage Sale were designated to support this worthwhile project and others. As many of you know, our Tanzanian friends in Mlowa are subsistence farmers. They must farm in order to have food for their families. It is humbling and sobering to realize that Pastor Lunogelo Mbwilo is both a pastor and a full-time subsistence farmer! This project will bring agricultural experts from Minnesota and Tumaini University to our friends in Mlowa and empower them to raise additional food for their families and their community. More information about this life-giving project is on the Tanzania bulletin board in the Narthex. To all those who donated items, volunteered their time and shopped the Redeemed Treasures Garage Sale, thank you from the CV Missions Committee!

Learn about Tanzania the Minnesota Way - at a Potluck

The St. Paul Partners (an organization connected to the St. Paul Area Synod and the Bega Kwa Bega Program) is hosting a Celebration Dinner and Fundraiser Event Saturday, September 20th, from 4:30 - 8:00 PM at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Shoreview. This event is being held to celebrate the drilling of the 100th clean water well in the Iringa, Tanzania area! Come and learn more about this life giving project! For more information contact Dawn Youngner.

In April and May, faith trekkers are experiencing an hour that transports them to Mlowa, Tanzania and connects them to their Lutheran cousins. The goal of this five-week Faith Trek Rotation is: “In response to Christ’s love, we offer our talents in faithful stewardship to accomplish God’s mission in the world.” In the other four classrooms, faith trekkers are learning to “Use It or Lose It: The Parable of the Talents.” The Tanzanian Partnership Committee felt that this was a great opportunity to introduce all faith trekkers to rich culture of Tanzania through their five senses. Faith trekkers are seeing pictures of the people and places of Tanzania, smelling spices, tasting chappati (flat bread)), hearing music sung in Swahili and touching items that were brought back from Africa.

In addition to learning about the similarities and differences in the lives of children from Apple Valley and Mlowa, faith trekkers are learning that the offering they give each week pays for a child from Mlowa to attend secondary school. There is a Mlowa primary school which educates kids through grade five. There is no secondary school in Mlowa so if you want education beyond grade five you need to attend boarding school. The cost of a year of boarding school for a secondary education (6th grade through 12th grade) costs $300 per year. The average income of a Tanzanian is $350.

To celebrate their connection to their Lutheran cousins, faith trekkers are creating a drawing introducing themselves and we are capturing both the picture and the artist on film. The Tanzanian Partnership Committee will be sending these one-of-a-kind photos to Mlowa so that the kids there can see who their Lutheran cousins are.

In 2002, Christus Victor (CV) began a partnership with a rural Lutheran congregation in the village of Mlowa located in the Iringa diocese in the south central region of Tanzania. The partnership is called Bega kwa Bega (meaning shoulder to shoulder) and we are one of sixty-six congregations of the St. Paul Area Synod which have made this cross cultural connection. Ambassadors from CV have traveled to Mlowa to connect with our Tanzanian cousins four times and the next journey is tentatively planned for the summer of 2010 and currently, the CV Tanzania Committee is researching the possibility of bringing Pastor Lunagelo Mbwilo here to connect with us!

If you have any questions about Tanzania or our connection with Mlowa, please contact Diana Buffie, Barb Damlo, KC Claussen Gubrud or Dawn Youngner. Asante Sana. Thank you.

YOU are AWESOME CV!!  At last count, you have contributed 2298 food items to our local food shelf!  Your enthusiasm in stepping up to the plate to put a dent in hunger has been inspiring, (We imagine there might also be some enthusiasm for watching Pastor Kent lose his fabulous head of hair).  The food shelf continues to experience record demand & both greatly appreciates & relies on the support of members of CV.  Our commitment to the food shelf has made us an important partner for them, & our continued support is vital to their efforts in providing for local families in need.  We have only one week left to meet our goal, we are confident we will succeed!  However, Confirmation & Senior High youth, you have an uphill battle to meet your challenge, so get some friends together & get busy collecting food!

We’re not sure if you are aware, but our committee has been dwindling this past year.  We need fresh ideas on how to reach our visitors & encourage growth in our committee.  We would like to invite all the people of CV to come to our next committee meeting on Tuesday, April 9^th at 7:00 PM.  We are not asking you to join our committee (but please feel free).  We are just asking for some ideas & direction.  We thought maybe the first step would be to ask past committee members & joyful servant participants to come & share what were the most influential factors that caused them to become members. Then hopefully we can draw on those successes to formulate a plan to be more effective in recruiting new members.  We would greatly appreciate any input you have & hope that you will come April 9^th to visit with us.  Thank you so much!

This Wednesday, March 12^th is your last chance for a Soup Supper for 2008.  Be sure to join us between 6:00 – 7:00 PM for a delicious meal that you don’t have to cook!  Bring the whole family, bring your friends, bring your neighbors & enjoy a meal & the fellowship.  Then stay for the Lenten service at 7:30 PM.