The Mabel Anderson Scholarship was established from a generous bequest received from the estate of Mabel Anderson between 1989 in memory of her parents, Peder and Johanna Anderson. It was Mabel’s wish that this monetary gift would enable further growth of our church, its ministries and stewardship within the community.

On Jan. 7 and 9 several members of First participated in a training sponsored by ReconcilingWorks (RW). ReconcilingWorks is a para-church organization that helps our ELCA congregations live more fully into the vision of being inclusive of ALL people, particularly LGBTQIA+ people. On the same weekend nearly 40 households participated in a Faith Alive! U event on Sunday evening with the executive director of RW, Aubrey Thonvold, to hear more about the congregational process to become a “Reconciling in Christ” or “RiC” Congregation in the ELCA.

Did you know???? In 1993 the ELCA passed a social statement entitled “Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope & Leadership”.  In it, it’s explains…

The First Teen Clothes Closet is again partnering with the Children’s Clothes Closet at Trinity Lutheran Church to provide back-to-school shoes for children and teens during Trinity’s annual block party in August. For the last two years, we have provided approximately 130 pairs of new athletic shoes in adult sizes 7 through 13 to help ensure teens have the shoes they need for school (including PE classes). If you would like to support this effort, you can purchase NEW athletic shoes, men’s or women’s, in the sizes mentioned, or make a monetary donation to the effort.

Seasons are changing, and the First Teen Clothes Closet is preparing for spring. Prom season is around the corner, and we would love to have more dresses, jewelry and shoes to offer our guests. Other needed items include athletic shorts for guys and girls, and soon we will need girls’ swimsuits. 

What is our most precious resource? The thing we all wish we had more of, to use, to share with our families and to give to others?

Surely, it is time. While we guard our time closely and feel we never have enough of it, it is when we give that time that we receive the most back. Volunteers who have given their time to serve as hosts for the First Teen Clothes Closet recently shared the moments of time when they were able to see and feel how this ministry is about so much more than clothes.

While visits to the First Teen Clothes Closet were down in the first few weeks of the year, by the end of January, our requests were back to normal, with 4 guests in the last week of January and 20 guests during the month of February.