Christus Victor Lutheran Church

“Wapendwa Katika Kristo Yesu, Salaam Katika jina la bwana wetu Yesu Kristo.” 

(Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, we greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.)

Thus began the latest letter from Rev. Lunogelo Mbwilo of the Mlowa Parish in the Iringa Diocese of Tanzania.  On behalf of the whole congregation of Mlowa, he sends their greetings and deep gratitude for your prayers and support of their ministries and their community.  Know that all of the members of the Mlowa Parish are praying for you every week, and thanking God for your partnership and support!

Just what does that partnership and support mean?  Thanks to your generous support:

•  The Mlowa Parish and surrounding community is receiving the resources for Agriculture Demonstration Plots to help increase their food production. 
• They have money for food during this time of drought, as well as funds for their many growing ministries.
• Their congregation is growing in membership by leaps and bounds. Your benevolence dollars help them build new churches and train their lay leaders, who are the Evangelists in the surrounding villages and out into the bush.

Thanks to your generous support, on Sunday, August 8, we will be sending off four members of Christus Victor to Tanzania as Ambassadors of our church.  Pastor Kent, Barb Damlo, Malisa Kreutzmann and Paula Nierengarten will travel to Tanzania to strengthen and grow our partnership and ministry with our friends in Tanzania (Bega Kwa Bega/Shoulder to Shoulder).  This is a mission trip of relationship building, not building things, which is the foundation of all of the real building that has been going on in Mlowa, Tanzania these past 11 years.  Here are some of the things our ambassadors we will be doing:

• Connecting with the students we sponsor and visiting their schools
• Spending time worshipping and building friendships in Mlowa
• Visiting all of the preaching points (Mlowa is a Parish with 1 main site, and 11 preaching points spread out into the surrounding countryside)
• Touring their Agricultural Demonstration Plot
• Exploring the possible need of a well for clean drinking water
• Learning more about their lay leadership training program and evangelism ministry as an incredibly effective model we need to learn from

Your continued prayers and support are greatly needed and appreciated.  If you would like to receive email updates while our ambassadors are in Tanzania, please send your email address to Pastor Kent at pastor.kent@christusvictor.org.

“But now, more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases.  But [Jesus] would withdraw to deserted places and pray.” – Luke 5: 15-16

“Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God.  And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles.” – Luke 6: 12-13

Dear Friends in Christ at Christus Victor,

Change is both exciting and frightening. 

There are good changes.  When kids are graduating from high school and college, there is celebration and expectation, as well as fear and worry, on the part of parents and their children together.  Marriage brings huge change, not just for the couple, but for the whole system of family and friend relationships.  The birth of a child brings a lifetime of changes – sometimes faster than parents can handle. 

There are bad changes, too.  The diagnosis of cancer or some deadly disease brings unwanted change and dread.  Getting laid off from a job brings unforeseen changes that threaten the stability of families, not only financially, but emotionally as well.  The ending of relationships – whether through divorce, a break-up or moving to a new community or new church – are full of painful changes and adjustments.   

The question about change, “What will happen next? can be asked with anticipation or anxiety, and often times both.

“What will happen next?” has been a big question for a lot of people as Spirit Bound heads out on their farewell tour after 24 years of music ministry.  When people ask me, with anticipation and anxiety, “what will happen next?” I have to say, “I have no idea what will happen next.”

 But, I do know that whatever new ministries will arise here at CV will only come after people take time to pray and discern God’s leading and calling.  Just like Jesus, all of us need to take a little time every day to get away from all of the distractions and demanding voices to pray, to be in God’s Presence, and let the Holy Spirit guide us and bring us together to discern what God wants to happen next.

As we celebrate 24 wonderful years of Spirit Bound’s ministry, I thank God that Anne Nyquist and Deb Archer listened to God, in their own unique way, and started Spirit Bound.  God showed them a very real need for a ministry for senior high youth at CV.  They looked at the gifts God had given them, namely a passion for music.  They shared their idea and passion with a few other supportive people and then got going, even in the face of resistance and lack of support.  It has taken a lot of energy, a huge commitment of time and resources, and a lot of love to keep this ministry going over these 24 years.  Through the many ups and downs of Christus Victor’s ministry, Spirit Bound has been a central and consistent ministry that has kept CV going through thick and thin.  Spirit Bound has not only touched the faith and lives of hundreds of people at CV, but also many thousands of people from the 30 states and 4 Canadian Provinces to whom Spirit Bound has brought their musical Gospel message.

What happens next at CV will come from prayer, passion, and committed people using their gifts, talents, time, and treasure to serve God and make a difference in the world and in the lives of other people for the sake of Jesus Christ.

I invite you to join me in celebrating 24 years of Spirit Bound’s ministry at their homecoming concert on Sunday, June 27, at 7:00pm!  Let’s make their homecoming potluck and concert a big celebration, and show our thanks and appreciation for all that Spirit Bound has meant to the life and ministry of Christus Victor!

 Yours in Christ,

Pastor Kent Claussen Gubrud

Please join us for the annual silent auction for the Mission Committee of Christus Victor – on Sunday, March 21. The sounds of the Dominican Republic and Tanzania will be woven into our 8:30am and 11:00am worship service and the auction is scheduled from 9:45 to 10:45. Funds raised will go to our partnership congregation in Tanzania and to send four Christus Victor ambassadors to Africa in August 2010. Contact KC Claussen Gubrud at 612-722-2896 or email her at kcgkcg@msn.com with any questions.

If you are willing to fill a basket, follow these simple steps:

1. Pick up a basket from the CV office or find some other container to fill;
2. Be creative & fill it;
3. Return it to the CV office by Sunday, March 14th

On March 21st, we need basket bidders. If you are willing to bid on a basket, follow these simple steps:

1. Join us on March 29 at 9:30 am in the Fellowship Hall;
2. Bid on a basket – or 2 or 3;
3. Enjoy some African coffee, treats, music & fellowship;
4. Watch your bids and be sure to rebid so you outbid your friends.

This year’s Baskets of Love event goes to support our partnership congregation in Tanzania and the ambassadors from Christus Victor who will travel to Tanzania in August 2010.

The get an appreciation for the scope of our agricultural partnership with the Mlowa parish, and how Christus Victor is part of a large agricultural movement in Iringa, head over to the Tumaini University Institute of Agriculture website.

If you are more of a visual person, maybe these pictures from the project will be more helpful.

On behalf of the Social Ministries Committee, I would like to thank the congregation for their generous support of Armful of Love.  This year we helped 10 families enjoy Christmas.  This was the largest number of families we have ever helped.  I want to extend a special thank you to Mariah Glinski, Sarah Gwin, Julie Manning, Megan Hanson, Hannah and Andrea Perendy for their assistance in sorting and packing the gifts.  There were tons of presents to pack up!  I also want to thank the Glinski’s and the Iaria’s for helping deliver the gifts to the warehouse.

Thanks again for supporting this mission.

Merry Christmas,

Jaclyn Brandes

Social Ministries Committee

Feed My Starving Children is making great strides in the fight against world hunger. Thank you to Christus Victor Lutheran Church for your part in what the Lord has done through FMSC in 2009! This year more than 400,000 volunteers will pack more than 91 million meals to feed God’s precious starving children. In recent weeks, FMSC has shipped food to Haiti, Nicaragua, Honduras, the Philippines, Moldova, El Salvador, Somalia, Liberia, Tanzania and Guatemala. Feed My Starving Children is blessed by your partnership in our mission of feeding bodies and spirits. He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward him for what he has done. Proverbs 19:17 

May you be especially blessed this holiday season!

When the members of the Social Ministries Committee look back and count our blessings from Thanksgiving, we have much to be thankful for.  Most notably, we are so thankful to the members of Christus Victor and our partner, Thrivent Financial, for helping us make our annual Thanksgiving basket ministry a huge success again this year, despite a challenging economy.  Your overwhelming generosity toward those who could most benefit from caring hearts and outstretched hands made all the difference in enabling us to serve just as many families as last year, with a total of 200 baskets!

The morning we spent together making and distributing our Thanksgiving baskets went by so smoothly and quickly that one might not realize all the different pieces and people that fit together in order to help make this ministry the success it has been.  Thrivent Financial plays a big part every year in giving us a very generous donation to get things rolling.  Your wonderful donations and/or purchases from the garage sale concession stand and to the Adopt-A-Family Thanksgiving basket fund make up the bulk of the rest of the funds needed to purchase all supplies for the baskets.  Once funds were secured, people-power did the rest in making it all come together.  We had volunteers that supplied a delivery truck complete with volunteer drivers.  We had Cub Foods of Apple Valley help get us the best possible prices and make sure we had everything needed.  Last, but far from least, we had tireless volunteers unloading the delivery truck, making boxes, filling baskets, coloring pictures for the baskets, carrying baskets (they’re heavy!), and giving out/delivering baskets to thankful recipients.  

From the beginning fund drive to the last basket given out, we were blessed with volunteers of all kinds.   Kids of all ages, including a Confirmation group, families, adults younger and older, members of Christus Victor, Lily of the Valley, and Casa de Oracion, all came together to serve the Lord, to share each other’s company and to serve others.   Looking down the church hallway at all the baskets lined up, no one could pass without saying, “Wow!”   Wow indeed.  Many heartfelt thanks from the members of Social Ministries for your generous hearts and helping hands in making this ministry such a success this year.  You are all truly awesome!