CEAP:  It’s time to help stock the CEAP food shelf. Demand is at an all time high. All non-perishable foods are accepted as well as paper supplies, soaps, personal care items and baby supplies. We will hold our donation for deliver until March to take advantage of the matching program through Minnesota Food Share. Items which are always needed are: peanut butter, cereal (hot & cold), canned tuna & chicken, soup, chili and stew. Paper products are toilet paper and facial tissue. Bath, laundry and dish soap are also needed. There is a list of ethnic foods available on the CEAP collection table. Thanks to all who can help out.

Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota is looking for a few good mentors to help refugees become self sufficient and successfully integrate into our community. Mentors make a commitment to meet with a new arriving refugee family at least three times per month for three months. Activities include meeting family at air port with case manager, providing a tour of the Twin Cities or navigating a grocery store. Mentors may help teach the family how to use appliances, help then understand their mail, learn about US currency or invite the family to lunch, practice English or learn how to ride the bus. Qualifications include patience, a sense of humor, interest in other cultures and flexibility. If you would like to be a mentor to a new family please contact marta.volbrecht@lssmn.org or talk with Pastor Sarah.

Are you interested in a quilting class? If so, please contact Connie Anderson or the church office.

Staff and Personnel Committee have been working on a background check procedures to be implemented at Family of God Lutheran. At the December congregational council meeting, council approved a "Safeguarding our Children and Youth" procedure and policy. Effective January 2012, we will begin the process of doing background checks and provide training for all volunteers and staff working with children.

We will be working with the company "Protect My Ministry", which specializes in background checks for churches. Volunteers working with our youth will enter their own personal information into the online website. Family of God does not intend to maintain any personal information for this procedure. We will have access only to the background check results as provided by Protect My Ministry.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact Pastor Paul or Kris Simon

KNOCK KNOCK who's there?  FAMILY OF GOD door knockers from our church regularly go out into the community to pass out information, inviting our neighbors to worship.  If you have some energy for this, we'd love to have you join in. Please contact Bruce Cary.

Clearance Sale!!!  Short of actually being free, the FOG cookbooks are now on clearance!  We can't go any lower!  Get your own copy for just $2.50!  Great price for last minute birthday gifts, hostess gifts, showers, stocking stuffers (yes, I went there; Christmas is just around the corner!).  Stop by the table in the narthex or call the office to reserve your copy before they're all gone.

Prayer Shawl Ministry – Sue Aleckson is organizing a prayer shawl ministry. If you are interested in this ministry or have questions, please contact Sue at 763-561-8493.  Click here for more information.

Luther Lands Germany Trip: We are planning an exciting trip to Prague and Germany, including visits to Dresden, Leipzig, Wittenburg, and Berlin June 19th-June 29th, 2012. Pastor Paul is serving as host. This trip is open to Family of God members and friends. Some already attended an interest meeting in May, and we have 11 who are planning on the trip, and another 13 that are considering. We need 20 minimum to make the trip a go.

Youth Waterpark Trip to the Metropolis Waterpark in Eau Claire, WI.  We will leave church on Saturday, Feb. 25, and return in early afternoon on Sunday, Feb. 26.  All youth in grades 9-above are invited!  Space is limited to 16 spots! $35 needs to be given to Kris by February 19th!  If we do not have 12 paid registrations by February 19th, this trip will need to be cancelled!

New Member Orientation:  The next new member orientation sessions are March 11, 18, and 25 at 11:45 am in the Fellowship Hall. Members will be received on April 1st.

Charlotte's Web: Our Spring intergenerational musical will be “Charlotte's Web,” based on the wonderful story by E.B. White. The show will be performed April 19th-22nd, 2012. Children 1st grade and older, teens, and adults are all invited. Please talk to Pastor Paul for more information.  Rehearsal Schedule

The Gathering is a respite and support program for family caregivers. The purpose of The Gathering is to provide a safe and enjoyable group respite setting for seniors experiencing long term illness and who are living at home; to provide family caregivers the opportunity to have several hours of respite; to provide support services and education to family caregivers; to provide senior care receivers with fellowship, activities and socialization; and to give family members of local faith communities an opportunity to serve others. Contribution for The Gathering is $25 per 5 hour session ($30 if a boxed lunch is provided) or $5 for support group only. A schedule and location of meetings can be found on our community bulletin board. Questions or to arrange an assessment call Jill at 763-422-6960 or email her at jill.agyekum@co.anoka.mn.us

Homeless Youth:  Pastor Sarah is working in conjunction with other clergy folks to find guest rooms for the 217 homeless youth in our school district. If you have a guest room and would be willing to consider this opportunity, please speak with Pastor Sarah. Your help is desperately needed.

The Drama Ministry thanks you for the wire hangers and dry cleaner plastic bags. There is no more need for those items, but still needed are small margarine containers, cool whip containers and ice cream buckets. Please contact Jeri Oswalt with questions.

The VBS staff for this coming summer is looking for 50 scenic calendars from 2011 or earlier. Our theme is reduce, reuse, recycle and so we want used calendars. Please put them in either the nursery’s wall pocket (next to nursery door) or on the counter in the nursery. Thanks!

Thrivent Members - In 2011, seventeen members of Family of God designated their Thrivent Choice Dollars to the church in the amount of $1984 compared to $494 in 2010. In addition, they also designated Choice Dollars to other charities. The Choice Dollars are given by Thrivent and do not come out of Thrivent members pockets or investments, but, you are allowed to allocated the money to charities of your choice.
The Thrivent Choice Summary Report indicates there are still twenty Thrivent members eligible to designate their Choice Dollars. Because of privacy laws, we don’t know who those members are, but, if you are a Thrivent insurance contract or annuity holder, you may be eligible to designate Choice Dollars to Family of God. Some of the eligibility requirements to receive and direct the Choice Dollars are: being at least 16 years old, owning a Thrivent insurance contract with an annual premium cost of $800 or more, or owning an insurance contract or annuity with a value of $20,000 or more. The Choice Dollars that you have available to designate can be available on a monthly or quarterly basis depending upon your premium payment schedule or contract value. You are also allowed to setup an automatic recurring designation. If you have questions or would like assistance in directing your Choice Dollars, you can call 1-800-847-4836, speak with Gail Seaver or Amy Zahalan, or go to https://www.thrivent.com/thriventchoice

Gail Seaver
Thrivent Congregational Advocate