Pawaga Parish - Tanzania
The Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN)
Red Cross Blood Drive
Habitat for Humanity
Operation Christmas Child
Prayer Ministry
Giving Tree
North Branch Food Shelf
Operation US Soldiers in Iraq
A Minnesota without Poverty
 

  
Our Purpose: To be a reflection of Christ's love, his hands and feet, in service to our neighbors in the community and the world.

Partnering with Pawaga
Trinity Lutheran Church has been part of the Bega Kwa Bega (Shoulder to Shoulder) program between the Saint Paul Area Synod and the Iringa Diocese in Tanzania since 2001. We have been blessed to have been paired up with the Pawaga congregation and have found many ways to partner with them in ministry.

Building Project
Together with the members of the Pawaga Parish we raised funds to build a home for the pastor of Pawaga. Pastors in Tanzania are expected to take in those who do not have their own housing, especially young children who have lost their parents. Pastor Ruben had been living in a very small house without the needed room for his own family and those who have needed his hospitality. During the last few years we have been working together to build a new home for Pastor Ruben and his family. The outside of the house was finished in December of 2006, however we continue to raise support to finish the inside and provide much needed furnishings.

Student Sponsors
“Education is Wealth” was the school motto for the Pawaga Secondary School - the statement is the reality in which the Africans live. Education is needed for families to become self-sufficient, yet education is a rarity for many. It costs a student $360 to attend secondary school for one year, considering that the average family's income is $800, this is impossible for most families. We have been able to sponsor 21 students in their secondary education for the 2008 school year. We still have many more in Pawaga who need the opportunity to further their studies, help their families, and make an impact on the village. It is our hope that we will be able to continually increase the amount of students that are sponsored. Currently all students are sponsored by individual families or groups in the church.

Building Relationships
The winter of 2006-2007 provided an opportunity for our global mission team to visit our brothers and sisters in Christ in Pawaga. The experience opened our eyes to how small the world really is, and how large God’s grace is. For three weeks we were able to learn the culture, eat the food, and experience the generous hospitality of the Tanzania people. We were continually in awe of their trust in God and their hope in the future. We could not have imagined that we would leave Tanzania with lasting friendships and a new sense of what it means to be a Christian community. We realized that our partnership is not so much about building houses or churches, or sending students to school, as it is about the face-to-face relationships and experiencing life together. It is our hope to send another group to Tanzania the winter of 2008/2009.

If you are interested in more information about the partnership between Pawaga and Trinity, sponsoring a student, or going to Tanzania please contact Ann Tanko or call the church office at 651-674-7047.
  

The Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN)
The Interfaith Hospitality Network program offers shelter, meals, and hospitality for families with children who have transitional housing needs. We partner in this service with 12 other local congregations annually through the New Pathways organization in Cambridge, MN. Trinity Lutheran Church provides private rooms and meals for seven days, up to four weeks during the year. Guests use the day center at New Pathways during the day.

Trinity members have opportunities to be involved and share their time and gifts by providing three meals a day, setting up and taking down beds, washing laundry, playing games with the children, helping with homework, and interacting with guests. For more information, see www.newpathwaysmn.org.

Red Cross Blood Drive
The Red Cross Blood Drive allows us to connect both the services of Red Cross and our community; together we help to provide a much-needed resource of “the essence of life,” blood, to people in need. Our congregation welcomes the local community into our church with the intent of making them feel welcome as well as appreciated for their donation. Members of our church donate their time by volunteering to assist in this program.

Habitat for Humanity
Core Values - Faith in Action, Hope, Community, Integrity and Perseverance

Vision - It is our belief that success for low-income families begins with stable, affordable housing. We are focused on a Twin Cities region where hard-working families can own homes in healthy neighborhoods with access to jobs, transportation and quality schools.

Social Concerns Team continues to pursue active involvement with Habitat for Humanity. For further information about Habitat please see their website at www.tchabitat.org

Operation Christmas Child
Operation Christmas Child is a worldwide outreach of Samaritan's Purse that brings love, joy, and hope to little ones living in some of the most desperate circumstances imaginable. These shoe boxes are filled with gifts as well as the life-changing message of God's greatest gift - His Son, Jesus Christ. Along with the boxes, children are offered Gospel storybooks and invited to learn more about Jesus through their follow-up discipleship program.

 
Prayer Ministry
One of the ministries of our church is to pray for the different ministries going on at Trinity. We meet every 1st Thursday of the month, unless otherwise announced. All are welcome and we appreciate any prayer requests you may have.

  
Giving Tree
Trinity works along side the Crisis Nursery and Chisago County Human Services during the Christmas Season to provide 'Christmas Presents' for children and families in need. A Christmas Tree is present in the Narthex area of the church with ornaments for families to take and buy the necessary item listed.

 
North Branch Food Shelf
Periodically throughout the year, the Social Concerns Team works with the congregation to provide food for the area food shelves. At Thanksgiving we have a special offering during Worship where Confirmation youth and families bring bags of groceries forward to the altar. After worship the food is collected and taken to the food shelf. If interested in helping with this event, please contact Pr Sue.

  
Operation U. S. Soldiers in Iraq
Several times a year donations are collected for the men and women serving in Iraq. A list will soon be posted of the things that will be needed for the Christmas mailing coming in 2007. The Team is in the process of creating a more thorough list of soldiers serving in Iraq. If you have a loved one you wish to receive a 'care package' from Trinity and wish to be involved with this ministry, please contact us.

  
A Minnesota without Poverty
The Social Concerns Team supports the initiative sponsored by the six synods of the ELCA in Minnesota, Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota, Joint Religious Legislative Coalition and Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy in Minnesota.

We invite you to check out their website www.mnwithoutpoverty.org  for further information. You will find; Principles of " A Common Foundation: Shared Principles for Overcoming Poverty, the various work groups involved in Ending Poverty by 2020 and ways in which you can become personally involved.