By Ed Odden

A few weeks ago one of my co-workers came to work not looking so good. Inquiring about his health, he told us that they had a small get-together with his family and his wife made two different hot dishes.

The guests ate from one and he and his wife ate from the other. That night he and his wife got very sick. Yep, they had given themselves food poisoning.

Have you ever had a food borne Illness? I have, and it was not what I would call a fun time. It can also cause death in some groups of people.

To prevent this from ever happening at CV, I will be putting together a training course on Food Safety and offering it to all at CV. My goal is to get 100 people to take the course.

The course will run approximately 30 to 40 minutes and there will be NO test.

Why are we doing this you ask? Certainly to prevent food borne illness, but also because the state of Minnesota is telling us we must have a trained food safety person for some of our food events that we have at CV.

Our leaders at CV feel that at ALL of our food events we should be adhering to good food safety practices.

So keep your eyes open for the signup sheet and please sign up.

In the meantime, here’s a good food safety tip: WASH YOUR HANDS with soap and warm water for 20 seconds before beginning food
preparation, after handling food, and after using the bathroom, changng diapers, or touching pets.

The Golden rule of food storage is “When in doubt, Throw it out!”

Gods blessings and Happy Safe Cooking.
The Food Cop (Ed Odden)

Why shouldn’t the birth of a baby be a joyous event? For many moms-to-be in other parts of the world, the birthing experience can be a very dangerous time. Lack of very basic supplies can be a matter of life and death.

In many impoverished countries, midwifes play an integral part in the lives of the mother and her child during and after the birthing process . Although the midwives have training and experience handling deliveries, they sometimes are without the important supplies needed to perform a safe and normal delivery. These are simple items – items such as soap, receiving blankets and towels.

The Social Ministries Committee is coordinating the NEWBORN KIT PROJECT this May…it’s our “Mother’s Day” project. YOU can play a vital role in this life-saving mission. Why not check your linen closets to see if you have any gently used bath towels that you no longer use. Or how about picking up a few bars of Ivory Soap on your next shopping trip? Check out your neighborhood garage sales for receiving blankets or onsies.

Items can be donated between April 15th and May 6th. Look for the bassinet in the Narthex to drop off your donations. When assembled, each Newborn Kit will contain the following

regular size bath towels (approx. 24″ x 40″)

2 ½ gallon Ziploc bags

wash cloths

receiving blanket (approx. 30″ x 30″)

Ivory soap – bath size only

onsies (sizes newborn or 0-3 months)

newborn stocking cap

GREATEST NEEDS THIS YEAR ARE TOWELS, IVORY SOAP AND 2 ½ GAL ZIPLOC BAGS

Did you ever wonder what is done after  the supplies collected? You’re invited to come and join the Social Ministries Committee on Saturday morning, May 12th at 9am in Fellowship Hall.

Before assembling the kits, we will pray for the mother and child who will be receiving the Newborn Kit. We pray for a safe delivery and a healthy baby. After the kits are assembled with the above mentioned items, they will be packed in boxes and labeled and, at a later date, will be delivered to the Global Health Ministries site in Minneapolis. The Newborn Kits will be sent by their staff to more than 20 countries around the world!

Dear Friends in Christ at Christus Victor,

We may know how to say grace (“Come Lord Jesus, be our guest…”). But do we know when we have received God’s grace, or are experiencing God’s Grace? Do we know how to pay attention to what God is doing and how God is present with us in our daily lives? When we hear other people’s stories of how they have experienced God’s Grace in their lives, it can help us to notice where and how we have actually been experiencing God’s Grace ourselves.

As we journey together through these Wednesdays in Lent toward Holy Week and Easter, let us take time each day to reflect on when we feel alive and awake, blessed and loved, or simply at peace, then thank God for being present in our lives (“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.” – John 15:9).

And when we feel out of sorts, agitated or frustrated, alone or addicted, then turn toward God and be honest about what’s going on and ask for God’s loving and healing presence (“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.” – Romans 8:26).

In the words of my spiritual director, “Christian spirituality is paying attention to God: listening and learning from the risen Christ through the Holy Spirit in us and among us. We respond to God by living out God’s love, call, will, desire, and passion in all areas of our life” (Listening to God, by John Ackerman).

May we all pay attention to God this Lent in preparation to celebrate Holy Week and Easter.

In Christ,
Pastor Kent Claussen Gubrud

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and
you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me
in. Matthew 25: 35.

What are you “giving up” for Lent?

We will once again participate in the Minnesota FoodShare campaign, a statewide food drive. Ash Wednesday, February 22, is the start of the Lenten season this year and the entire month of March is during the Lenten season. Please remember the hungry as part of your Lenten prayer and sacrifice.

Your help is needed now more than ever due to increased needs. Monetary and food donations will be given to the Rosemount Resource Center for distribution in our local community. Envelopes for monetary donations are at the welcome desk and food donation drop off points are in the entries.

While all donations are greatly appreciated, monetary donations are
matched by corporate sponsors and allow the purchase of food and goods from food banks, where the money goes farther.

Watch for a display in the hallway to track our progress!

The following items are suggested donations for the food shelves:
Cash donations
Gift cards to purchase fresh nutritious food
Cereal (hot and cold)
Powdered milk
Pancake mix and syrup
Peanut butter and jelly
Tuna and Tuna Helper
Canned meat
Pasta and sauce
Rice and beans
Whole grain snack crackers
Granola/cereal bars
Canned fruit
Coffee/Tea
Dried rice (16 oz. packages)
Dried beans (16 oz. packages)
Cooking oil
Laundry detergent
Dish soap
Paper products (toilet paper, paper towels)
Personal care products (tooth paste, bar soap, shampoo)
Disposable diapers (all sizes)

Hi! I am Pastor Mary Kaye Ashley. I live in Burnsville with my three adult sons and husband, Jim, and am happy to be serving as your interim associate pastor at Christus Victor!

I’ve worked as director of youth ministries at Faith, down Cedar in Rosemount, as associate pastor at Cross of Glory in Mounds View and at Como Park in Saint Paul, in addition to a lot of other kinds of work with parents, children and youth. I treasure the staffs I’ve had the privilege of working with, and am delighted to be working with Pr. Kent and the rest of your staff.

I will be doing preaching, leading worship & visitation, along with heavy involvement in children, youth & family ministries. I love to be around growing people, and am delighted to work with you as you grow as followers of Jesus Christ.

Please feel free to call, text, email or Facebook me. I respond to everything I can most every day, and if you don’t reach me directly, please leave a message, so I can get back when I’m not driving, in the middle of a visit, etc. I want to get to know you all as quickly, and as well as I am able, in order to shape my communications and actions to share grace and testify to God’s love in our midst.

Fall is here and Thanksgiving is not far behind.   The Social Ministries Committee will once again be organizing our annual Thanksgiving basket ministry.

We began raising funds with our successful concession stand at the garage sale.  Once again we have a partnership with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans with a Care Abounds in Communities grant.    This year we will be picking apples at the Wardell’s orchard for our baskets.  The Wardell family has graciously donated the apples.  Our goal is 250 baskets for families in our Dakota County area.

How can you help?  You can sponsor a families’ dinner through our Adopt-A-Family campaign.   Each basket feeds a family of six and costs about $25.  A $25 donation provides for one family, $50 provides for two!  Your donation of any amount will help provide not only a wonderful holiday meal, but also send a heartfelt message to the recipients that they are loved and valued by God and their community.  Another way you can help is to volunteer on the morning of Saturday, November 19^th.  We will meet at church at 9:00 to fold boxes, unload the truck, bag apples, and fill the boxes.  If you have never participated in this event please join us!  This is a great family activity and service project for our Confirmation groups.  It is an amazing sight!

The sign-up sheet, Adopt-A-Family donation envelopes and additional information will be at the information desk near the end of October.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact a member of the Social Ministries Committee.  Many thanks in advance for helping us make this event not only a success for Christus Victor but more importantly for helping us make a positive impact on our sisters and brothers in our community.

Needed are 40 volunteers (ages 5-100) who would like to have fun while packaging meals for our brothers and sisters around the world. Donations to help fund the means are also needed. If you would like to donate, make your check to Christus Victor and put FMSC in the memo. For those who would like to carpool, we will leave from church at 8:30am. More info & a sign-up sheet are at the info desk. Any questions, please contact Nancy Colin 952-452-0700.