Christus Victor Lutheran Church

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.

Maundy Thursday – March 20^th – 7:00 PM; Good Friday – March 21^st – 7:00 PM; Easter Sunday – March 23^rd – 7:00 AM (Note Time Change), 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM.

…Come & Check out the Second Annual “Baskets of Love” auction this year on March 9^th! Some of the baskets have already been turned into the office & it looks like there will be a great variety of items to bid on this year! There is still time to pick up a basket and fill it with your creative ideas. Then return it to the office by March 2^nd & come & join the fun on March 9^th! The money raised will be used to support our partner congregation of Mlowa, & for future mission trip costs. Thank you!

Join us for  a Soup Supper from 6:00 – 6:45 PM & stay for the worship service from 7:00 – 8:00 PM.  We will have the imposition of Ashes & the celebration of Holy Communion.  Come & experience this most powerful worship service to begin your Lenten journey to Easter.