“Is it better to donate money rather than can goods?” This question seems to be asked often of food shelf staff and council members. The answer is that both donations are invaluable, but the food shelf can make your donation dollar stretch further by purchasing from the food banks. The Buffalo Food shelf purchases through the Second Harvest Heartland and Emergency Food Shelf Network weekly and bi-monthly respectively.

The Food Shelf monthly budget for food purchases has risen to $11,000. Having the ability to continue to purchase from the food banks, because of generous donors, has made it possible to keep a good variety of staples on the shelves.

Donations from local stores have increased greatly due to the Food Rescue Program coordinated by Second Harvest, local retailers and food shelf staff. Meats, produce, dairy, bakery, and hygiene items are picked up three times a week by volunteers at Walmart, Target, Cub, and Coborn’s. Having these donations helps keep expenses down dramatically and has increased the variety of healthy options for families. During the first quarter of 2012, Food Rescue participating stores have donated 173,548 pounds of food and hygiene items.

Redeemer is in Harrison neighborhood’s corner. Sunday mornings are a small part of Redeemer’s role in Harrison. Redeemer reaches out every day as a place of safety and welcome for those who need it.

A big project that I am excited to share is about a property lot across the street from Redeemer. The duplex was well know in the neighborhood as a place where bad things happen, and when Pastor Kelly saw the property for sale the wonderful idea came about for Redeemer to buy the property and turn it into a positive space in the neighborhood. Redeemer voted and approved this adventure. We have now torn down the condemned building and we will be building a new structure this summer through volunteer labor (contact the Redeemer office for more information about volunteering). Once the house is built, the current plan is to have low income housing for seminary students focusing on Urban Ministries, and for those students to be involved in the Harrison neighborhood and in Redeemer and the RCFL programming.

Redeemer cares about the community that it is in, and accepts people however they walk through our doors which I feel is so important as our society continues to draw lines of separation. Redeemer is full of differences but the acceptance and welcoming of all people keeps us close and together through the unity of Christ we can do great things. Redeemer is important to me because it give me hope, connection, and community and I don’t know where I would be without it.

It is now almost two months before the Zion team leaves for The Village of Hope in Zambia, Africa, and excitement is building.

The Puzzle Fundraiser collected $780 towards the two-day Teacher Institute they will be leading.

In one of the photos revealed in this fundraiser, co-founder of The Village of Hope, Kathleen Schwartz, is making the most of a teachable moment with a group of students outside the village school.  Find updates from the team and more at ZionBuffalo.org/AKCLI.

Remember, Matilda, the girl from The Village of Hope who came to the states to have surgery on her spine?  Check out her blog and read about all of the amazing things she is doing at matildaspath.wordpress.com.

The meeting will include:

• Supper for you and your family (serving begins at 5pm, those attending the Introduction are encouraged to come around 5:45 to eat with the Outreach Committee).
• Meeting begins at 6:30 and will end around 7:45pm.
• Child care and activities for children will be available after the meal if requested in advance.
• Plenty of informal conversation with staff, existing members, and other prospective new members.
• An overview of a wide variety of Zion programs and ministries.
• Zion Pastors briefly introduce what it means to be Lutheran.
• Your photo will be taken for the reception on April 29 (or you may email your own photo to abengtson@zionbuffalo.org before the class).
• Information for church records will be verified.

Register online or at the information desk.

A special thanks goes out to the Zion members who participated in the service. Carol Moore and Tim Lungstrom contributed music as did Zion Youth Frannie Pearson, Hannah Svoboda and Jessa Sigurdson. These high school seniors, along with Myron Crawford, have sung at Redeemer each of the past three years. They will be going off to college and will be missed.

Please consider attending Redeemer any Sunday or for next year’s Zion Day at Redeemer.

The pod will be used to collect medical equipment for Mission Jamaica.  When Minnesota medical clinics upgrade equipment like exam tables and X-ray machines, they often need a place to dispose of the old-but-still-usable equipment. This storage pod will sit at Zion until it is full of such equipment, and then be shipped to Jamaica for use in medical clinics in need of it.

If you know of equipment that is due for replacement and may be available for donation through this program, please contact Dr. Andrew Burgdorf.

When Rodger Hessedal and his family moved to the Montrose area, he and his wife visited many churches, but in 1970, with the encouragement of Pastor Blair, Rodger and his family became Zion members.  Rodger likes to be involved in church and community wherever there is a need, including Boy Scouts and the Christmas bell ringing for the Salvation Army, and his wife Sandra is active in the Harvest of Hands ministry.

Rodger figures he has been involved with children’s ministries for around 35 years, teaching Sunday school all that time. Rodger is retired from work as a lineman for Wright Hennepin Electric, and has Vacation Bible School has also become a regular part of his life at Zion.

Lyle Jans hasn’t been at Zion quite so long. He is a self employed contractor and a wedding coordinator at Zion, and lives on a farm near Buffalo. “My family has always been involved in church, one of my brothers is a pastor, my other brothers are elders at their church and sing in the church choir, my father sings in the choir as well, and my mom serves communion.” Lyle started attending Zion in 2010, and found “it had everything I was looking for.” Lyle is also a volunteer sound technician at Zion, a member of the wRight Ringers community handbell choir, and a volunteer at Timber Bay, an organization working with local youth.

Holly Husom (Christian Education Co-Director) asked Lyle if he would be interested in being involved in the birdhouse woodworking project for last year’s VBS. “I enjoyed working with the kids and she asked me again this year. I look forward to working with the kids again … knowing that this might be the only chance some of these kids have to do a wood working project.”

LeRoy Kronenberg is retired from many years of truck driving and owning his own business, and lives in Buffalo with his wife Judy. He loves to work in the yard, maintain his elaborate flower gardens and woodwork in his woodworking shop.

“Holly asked me to help three years ago with the mud brick molding project, and I have been involved with the wood working project ever since … Lyle and Rodger also asked me this year before Holly got the chance.” LeRoy’s granddaughters, Katelyn, Isabella and Abigail  (daughters of Brad and Shelly Lusti) are among the hundreds of children who enjoy VBS at Zion each year. “I have fun working with the kids, and have enjoyed working with my granddaughters who are helping complete this project. Katelyn and Isabella have been a great help getting this ready for VBS.”

Glen Berglund has been a lifelong member of Zion, remembering fondly his own Sunday school class in the old Marysville church, but is new to Vacation Bible School this year. He is retired from working at Centra Sota and Munson Lakes Nutrition feed mills and lives in Buffalo, with his wife Diane. Glen enjoys a good game of horse shoe, and also likes to do woodworking. “LeRoy asked me if I would be interested  [in volunteering with this project] while I was at coffee fellowship one Sunday morning.”

This crew is working together in LeRoy’s garage to make 200 sturdy wooden planters that will be the base of one of the craft projects for the grade 1-3 VBS students.

Items needed include

• shampoo and conditioner (particularly travel size shampoo)
• travel size lotion
• wash cloths
• soaps
• toothpaste
• toothbrushes

Please bring donated items to the collection basket at the information desk by Sunday, May 27.

Service will be held at Park Terrace on Monday, May 14.

This program is intended to promote interfaith understanding and dialogue. A presentation and discussion will be held with Rev. Tom Duke (ELCA) of the St. Paul Interfaith Network, along with Zafar Siddiqui and Nausheena Hussain from the Islamic Resource Group.

All are welcome. Refreshments and conversation will follow the presentation.

This event is co-sponsored by Zion and Buffalo United Methodist Church, and coordinated by Kate Dehmer, daughter of Rick & Nancy Dehmer, who is a University of Minnesota Religion graduate. Call Kate at 612-282-6939 with any questions.

“If we are to respect others’ religions as we would have them respect our own, a friendly study of the world’s religions is a sacred duty.”

~ Mahatma Gandhi

Gavin has Spinal Muscular Atrophy. There is no treatment for this disease, and Gavin’s only form of mobility is through the use of his power wheelchair. This family needs a wheelchair accessible vehicle to transport Gavin to and from school, physical therapy, and doctor’s appointments. The benefit is being held to raise the funds to install a wheelchair lift in a vehicle the family will purchase. The lift cost’s $20,000 and is not covered by insurance.

Please call Marsha Stech at 763.682.6742 to donate clean usable household items or baked goods for the rummage/bake sale portion of this event. Cash donations can be made at gavinsgusto.com/donate. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans will be matching donations.

From 4-7pm

• Zion youth will serve a pasta supper provided by Zion Youth and a “cycle in” worship for spokes and folks of all ages at 7pm. Suggested donation is $5 for adults, $3 for age 10 and under, or $20 for a family.
• A Bike Rodeo for kids, bike safety clinics and bike handling demonstrations will be held in the back / north parking lot.
• A series of educational and entertaining speakers will present in Trinity Hall
• 5:00pm ~ Sports Medicine 101 for Triathletes by Brett Oden, M.D.
• 5:30pm ~ Do As I Say, Not As I Do by Chris Legh
• 6:00pm ~ Coast to Coast without a Flat (or Bonk) by Zion member Jill Hanson who recently biked from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.
• Our mission partner, Redeemer Lutheran Church, will have a booth here from Venture North Bike Walk & Coffee
• Triathlon sponsors will have informational booths
• Packet pickup will be available for Triathlon participants

At 7pm

• There will be an outdoor ‘Bike-in’ worship service including a blessing of the bikes and Nate Bergengren & Friends, special guest musicians, .

If you plan to ride in the Sunday morning triathlon, volunteer at Sturges Park on Sunday, prefer to avoid the traffic congestion on triathlon Sunday, or just want a great chance to bike to Zion for outdoor worship, this event is for you.

If you’d like to volunteer at the Saturday events at Zion, call the church office or email mcrawford@zionbuffalo.org or sburgdorf@zionbuffalo.org.

• Pencils
• Erasers
• Small pencil sharpeners
• Pens (click type – logos are OK)
• Chalk and erasers
• Theme notebooks
• Lined theme paper

Please bring your donations to the collection bin in the Welcome area by May 27