CFNA 2016 Golf Event

Enjoyment & great fellowship!

“I wish I had met somebody like you when I came to this country 15 years ago… what you are doing shows me that you care about me!” This statement by Zina, a one-time refugee and now a member of the professional staff at Norwood Hills Country Club, after having helped orchestrate the CFNA event.

One of the strengths of Christian Friends of New Americans (CFNA) is the valued support and participation of volunteers and donors driven by a sense of Christian service. In yet another display of commitment, 70 golfers from the Lutheran community and beyond, participated in the 2016 CFNA Golf Tournament on Tuesday, October 11 at beautiful Norwood Hills. Led by a spirit of service, the Golf Committee members worked meticulously to make this a special time of fellowship, friend-raising and fundraising. Assisted by the professional Norwood Hills staff, the event was judged a great success by all who helped plan it.

great day. great golfers.

Blessed with good weather, the tournament was equally blessed by the participation of a wide spectrum of people interested in supporting CFNA. After a great afternoon of golf the participants, some accompanied by their spouses, gathered for a great dinner. During the after dinner program led by Rev. Greg Smith, participants received the personal testimony of CFNA client Shiva Gurung, who came to the USA as a refugee from Nepal and is now a member at Ascension Lutheran Church. Her story of hope and care received through the ministries of CFNA spoke directly to the purpose of CFNA and this event.

We were much encouraged by their testimonies, and are thankful for all who helped plan and organize this event, as well as for all the participants who contributed to its success.

By Rev. Stanish Stanley, Ph.D Christ Memorial Lutheran Church

Thank You Concordia Seminary!

CFNA Note: Each year for the past several years, Concordia Seminary has provided a Servant Event Team to assist with various cleaning and improvement projects at the Peace Center. Here Professor Rick Marrs, who served as the Coordinator for the Seminary Team, provides his observations.

As part of Concordia Seminary’s Orientation Week each fall, all new students in all programs participate in a 5-hour Servant Event in the St. Louis area. This Servant Event is designed to help students in various residential and on-line programs to interact and develop relationships. M.Div students were working alongside those in the Graduate School as well as in the Specific Ministry and Ethnic Immigrant programs.

Many new seminary students help in various community gardens in the city, but nine students and four staff came to the Peace Center to help with various cleaning, painting, and other improvement projects. CFNA staff participants (Al & Carol Buckman, Dr. Stanish Stanley) provided a list of projects, some of which were preliminary to other church groups coming to do later work, and worked alongside the visitors as well. An orientation by the staff helped teach the participants what the Peace Center does to reach out to numerous refugee communities in urban St. Louis.

At lunch the Peace Center brought in Shiva Gurung, a New American from Nepal, to tell the students how the Center had worked to help her and her family become a part of the St. Louis community, as well as reach out with the Gospel to her and her family. She then told of how the Center and various congregations had helped them, and how she and her family are now helping others to connect with that Gospel of Jesus, as well as learn the practical issues of navigating this new culture. Most of the students were very unaware of the ministry of the Peace Center, and this Servant Event helped to connect them with possible cross-cultural outreach options while they are studying at Concordia Seminary.

Dr. Rick Marrs Concordia Seminary

CFNA: Thank you Concordia Seminary, for another great Servant Team, and for your helpful assistance at the Peace Center!

IN MEMORIAM: Rev. Vernon D. Gundermann

rev. vernon d. gundermann

Pastor, counselor, teacher, encourager, advocate, CFNA Board Member and friend, Rev. Vernon Dale Gundermann died September 16 at the age of 78. He is survived by his wife Betty and children Peter, Mary Williams, Sarah McCarthy and Thomas, as well as 11 grandchildren.

A 1963 graduate of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Rev. Gundermann served parishes in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota before serving for 15 years as the senior pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church, Kirkwood, MO. Additionally, after retirement he also served as Chaplain at the LCMS International Center and Lutheran Senior Services.

Within the CFNA community, Rev. Gundermann is best remembered not only for his 10 years of service as a Board member, but also for his active participation as a workshop leader, golf committee member, writer and creative planner. His encouragement and advocacy on behalf of ministry among New Americans is nicely reflected in his CFNA acrostic prepared a few years ago, and which is reproduced below.

CFNA for Today!

C – is for Christian.  It is a unique, powerful, sensitive, enabling expression of what it means to be a Christian. It means to understand dramatically what Christ has done for us. It means to live dramatically as one of “His”.

F – is for Friends. Not just casual acquaintances, not just people we wave to, not just a name that we know. If enemies are those we wish to avoid or ignore or do harm to, then Friends are those we wish to build up, affirm, celebrate and cause to experience the very best.

N – is for new. They have different traditions, different cultures, different food taste, different clothing styles, and maybe a different religion. They have come to a new world. Sometimes they come without family or friends. But not for long, if we can help it!

A – is for Americans. For some the land of their dreams, where there would be a fulfilling of their dreams, a new start, safety, hope. We are committed to do everything we can so their lives may be rebuilt for now, and, through Christ, forever!

We thank God for Vern’s service and wish our Lord’s blessings on Betty and the family.

New CFNA Scholarship Students

Jonah and Selah Teklu

Farrah Matta

Six new students are attending Lutheran schools in the St. Louis area this fall through the generosity of churches, donors and the Lutheran Foundation. They join 8 other elementary students and 10 other high school students who are receiving CFNA’s “Adopt a Student” scholarships.

Jonah and Selah Teklu arrived in St. Louis from North Carolina when their father became a student at Concordia Seminary this fall. The family comes from Ethiopia, and Jonah, a first grader, and Selah, in kindergarten, now attend Word of Life Lutheran School. The family attends Timothy, where their father is a field worker who will help support Timothy’s outreach to African immigrants.

Attending Christ Community Lutheran School, Youssef Matta, a kindergartener, and Farrah Matta, a fifth grader, are from Egypt. They moved to St. Louis in early 2016 with their parents, Hady Matta and Vicki Meshreky, who are missionaries with POBLO, International, an organization that is reaching out to Muslims. The family are members of Epiphany, which is supporting their scholarships, with matching funds from the Lutheran Foundation.

Two students from Sierra Leone are now attending Lutheran High School South with help from CFNA scholarships. Joseph Momoh, a freshman, graduated from Word of Life last year; he was supported by a Today and Tomorrow scholarship there. He and his family are members of Timothy. Naomi Massaley, also a freshman, just arrived in the US a few months ago with her parents and her sister. A brother remains in Sierra Leone. Gerald Brewah, one of CFNA’s facilitators, helped her enroll at Lutheran South.

By Judith Meyer

Should you be interested in providing support for these students, or any of those referenced in this article, please be in touch with Judith at 314-504-7235 or judithwmeyer@gmail.com.

Naomi Massaley

Youssef Matta

Joseph Momoh

Ethiopian Night

Preparing Traditional Ethiopian Coffee

The CFNA Community Health Committee hosted an Ethiopian night on August 28. Fifty people gathered at Carondelet Park in St. Louis to enjoy a wonderful home-cooked Ethiopian feast! Nepali and African refugees/immigrants, as well as Americans who have been here for a while, were blessed to participate in this wonderful dinner and gathering! Not only was the dinner wonderful, it was also very healthy.

CFNA’s East African facilitator, Rev. Teddy Workeneh, his wife, Ayni, and Salemawit Borsamo prepared many traditional Ethiopian dishes, including a special coffee and dessert. They know firsthand how immigrants and refugees can be bombarded in American grocery stores with many processed and unhealthy food options. He and Anyi volunteered to make an Ethiopian dinner to illustrate many health benefits from the traditional injera - a teff flour bread, to lentils and other foods.

Tsion Endakachew, an Ethiopian immigrant and public health professional, explained the specific nutritional values of certain Ethiopian foods. In addition, Dr. John Lautenschlager provided insights as well.

All is ready!

The Lord blessed the event with good weather, good food, good company and a relevant devotion by Rev. Mark Hass!

CFNA’s Community Health committee plans to host another healthy eating dinner event in the near future. Stay tuned!

By Laura Brink Ascension Lutheran Church

After School Tutoring Workshop

Teachers at the Whiteboard

An important outreach ministry of Christian Friends of New Americans (CFNA) has been its After School Tutoring program (AST) for New American children. During the 2015-16 academic year approximately 120 students from nine birth nations were served through this outreach effort.

This was possible only because of the committed and skillful pool of volunteer tutors who willingly gave their time and shared their resources to serve as tutors at the Peace Center on South Grand Blvd. Continuing in this commitment of service 20 volunteers, primarily from local LCMS congregations, recently came together for a Tutoring Workshop.  The event featured better reading skills for New American children, especially for those who truly struggle with this.

Mrs. Linda Munsell, recently retired Oasis Coordinator for the St Louis public school, and Mrs. Kate Wayne, a recently retired public school principal presented their specially designed tutoring packets. These 25 zip lock bags provide a complete lesson plan and activities that the tutor can practice at home and then bring back to share with small groups of children. Educationally sound strategies were conveyed to make our precious tutoring time a more focused and insightful exercise. Special thanks also to Mrs. Linda Whitley from Concordia Kirkwood for helping with the preparation of these zip lock bags.

Workshop Participants

As always, the tutors were motivated to not only stimulate better learning, but to also mentor the student in faith conversations with the focus on a promising vision for the future. Importantly, the workshop also served as an opportunity to meet, mingle and experience fellowship over a Potluck dinner.

The side conversations provided opportunities for all to share previous tutoring experiences – from the Peace center and elsewhere. So, inspired with Christ-centered love, these volunteer tutors prepared for the start of the new academic year which will begin on September 6. CFNA greatly values and appreciates the commitment to Christian service displayed by our volunteers, and prayerfully hopes many others will be led to join in sharing their God given talents with the New American students who have become part of the CFNA After School Tutoring Program.

Prepared by Rev. Stanish Stanley Christ Memorial Lutheran Church

Back Pack Blessings!

Back Pack recipients and tutors

On Tuesday, August 16, more than 20 New American youngsters came to the CFNA Peace Center to receive book bags filled with school supplies. All of them are members of refugee families from Afghanistan, Nepal, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Nigeria and more. Each was thrilled to not only receive the book bags, but to meet their CFNA tutors as well.

Volunteers filling back packs

CFNA takes this opportunity to express its sincere thanks to Concordia Lutheran Church, Kirkwood for their generous donation of bags and supplies. Additional bags were also received from the members of Timothy Lutheran Church, as well as from individual donors like Ed and Julainne Luhmann. Each bag was personally handed to each recipient by one of the numerous tutors in attendance. Additionally, words of hope and inspiration were provided by CFNA Chairman, Rev. Allan Buckman, followed by a prayer and a blessing by Mrs. Jennifer Janssen, one of the volunteer tutors. The highlight of the entire event was provided by the happy faces and joyful smiles of the students themselves, as they cheered each other on while each received their gift. Truly, the message of Christ’s love echoed throughout the entire event.

Thanks again to the generous members of Concordia Lutheran Church and all the others who contributed the book bags, school supplies, time and effort required to turn this event into a pleasant and happy reality.

Prepared by Rev. Stanish Stanley

Partners in Mission

ism Volunteers

ISM & CFNA

Their journey begins outside of this country, thousands of miles from St. Louis. They come here with very little and have few connections. But, there are two groups determined to greet them with the love of Christ and Christian hospitality. International Student Ministry-St. Louis (ISM) and CFNA have similar goals. Each, though working with different groups of internationals, prays that the light of Christ shines through them as they reach out to those that are new to the United States.

It is a blessing that at times, both ISM and CFNA work together to accomplish their goals. This happens throughout the year as they reach out to international students and those new to this land by providing a practical need: furniture.

CFNA collects furniture throughout the year in case new families arriving in this land need a bed, table, dishes or other items to furnish their home. ISM collects furniture in August to give to international students arriving in our city for the first time. Throughout the year, ISM refers individuals wanting to donate furniture to CFNA. But in July and August, CFNA refers donors to ISM. CFNA also encourages ISM to take any items they need for students from their storage area during the month of August.

ISM serves students that may only be in this country for a few years, and CFNA serves those that may be staying forever. Nevertheless, both realize this is an opportunity to do international missions right here in our own backyard. Both groups know that Jesus died for his children from every nation and they are blessed to work together to tell that good news!

By Sharon Riordan, Director, ISM St. Paul’s, Wildwood

Welcome Mariah!

Mariah mootz

We welcome our new Intern, Mariah Mootz, who is with us this fall as she completes her final semester at Saint Louis University. Mariah is working towards her BA in French and International Studies. She is a St. Louis native, however she has had the opportunity to study abroad in Madrid, Spain.

While there, she volunteered with T-Oigo, an organization that partners Spanish-speaking children with hearing-loss and native English speakers, so they can have the opportunity to become bilingual despite their disabilities. Mariah volunteered with a young boy who had two cochlear implants. She taught him many things in English, his favorite subject being animals at the zoo.

Additionally, she has been working with international students for two years as the International Intern for Saint Louis University’s Office of Admission. Her job involves interacting with students from around the world and helping them discover the possibilities and opportunities that await them in St. Louis. We look forward to her working with us this fall!

Mariah is our first intern.  Please join us in welcoming her to CFNA!

Night with Neighbors

Actively Participating

“Pastor Stanish, can you please pick up my family and friends tomorrow so that I can go to the Church?” This was the immediate reply when I called Bariam Osman, a New American child from Eritrea. Bariam, together with her brothers and sisters, have been accessing the services offered at the CFNA Peace Center during the past couple of years.

Bariam’s desire was to participate in the “Night with Neighbors” outreach program organized by Christ Memorial Lutheran Church’s urban St. Louis satellite congregation, Reliant Church. Members worship Sundays at the Crave Coffee House located immediately adjacent to the campus of St. Louis University. This special neighborhood outreach ministry was offered each of the four Tuesdays in June. Bariam, who along with her friends and siblings, attended all of the events, wanted to go yet again even though the “Night with Neighbors” program had ended.

Bariam’s joy in being at Reliant Church is precisely the kind of response for which the pastor and Reliant members were hoping. Reliant’s “Night with Neighbors” was their unique way of reaching out to their neighbors in urban St. Louis with the message of Christ’s love and blessing. To accomplish this, volunteer drivers picked up refugee kids from CFNA, took them to the Church for the event, and then returned them to their homes.

Through their generous gift of time and effort, the members of Reliant impacted the lives of 15-20 New American kid and others living in the city, making them feel welcome and blessed.

Aluda Dabi, together with the members of her family, arrived in St. Louis a few years ago as refugees from Eritrea. At the conclusion of “Nights for Neighbors” her comment was – “it was so much fun, and we learned about Jesus.”

Fully engaged

Through teaching of Christian songs, sharing Bible based messages of hope in engaging ways, and providing numerous crafts and games, Reliant Church made Christ come alive in the lives of these New American kids – and others as well.CFNA greatly appreciates all of this, and gives thanks to Rev. Bobby Walston and the Reliant members for including these

New American kids from CFNA in this act of Christian love, acceptance and kindness.

By Rev. Dr. Stanish Stanley Christ Memorial Lutheran Church

LWML Serving New Americans

Vbs

Recently I spent a weekend in a part of St. Louis that I’d never visited. Along with three other LWMLers, I visited the CFNA Peace Center from July 8-10 to complete a servant event for the LWML. What a fabulous day we had!

We ladies vacuumed, pulled weeds, washed windows, dusted blinds, cleaned pews, bathrooms, and organized supplies. Some ladies from Nepal, and Heart to Heart Sisters Ayni Workeneh from Ethiopia and Beena Stanley from India assisted with mopping and cleaning the kitchen area. During a break we spoke with a volunteer who is assisting Deborah from Democratic Republic of the Congo and Maya from Nepal with their English language and job search. They were using a Rosetta Stone program and Microsoft Word on the computers.

sweeping up

cleaning up the playground

Later that afternoon, after a much needed shower back at our lodging about 10 minutes away (and an ice cream at Ted Drewes), we went back for a fun time of VBS with about 30 New American children at the Peace Center. We used the same VBS resources used at my church, Good Shepherd Lutheran in Centralia, earlier this summer. The music DVD, followed by crafts, and the Jesus Cares storytelling lesson were well received by such happy children. We ended our workday with a delicious meal of Indian cuisine made by the Stanish family with some assistance by the YWRs. God is good!

That evening we stayed nearby at St. Trinity so we could worship at the Peace Center with the Nepalese group on Sunday morning. It was lovely to hear nearly 50 worshippers praise God in their native tongue.

Special thanks to the kind soul who would cross the aisle to show us the scripture reference in our Bibles so we could follow along.  We recognized the tune and actions to one of their praise hymns despite not knowing the words.

Certainly a lesson learned by us LWMLers had to do with how it feels to be in a setting where one does not know the language. We thank the Lord for this opportunity to serve and to meet the helpers and refugees at CFNA.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:7

Submitted by Ann Seider Vice President of Special Focus Ministries Missouri District LWML

In Memory

henry Manu. January 7, 1998 Liberia to June 25, 2016, St. Louis, Mo

Henry and Samuel came to St. Louis as members of refugee families from Liberia.  Both were members of Timothy Lutheran Church and both families were associated with CFNA. Both of these young men dedicated their lives to Christ at an early age, and were active members of their church.

A junior at Lutheran High South, Henry was active in sports and respected as a student. Also active in sports and a student who took his studies to heart, Samuel attended Roosevelt High School in St. Louis.

Lost to us on Saturday, June 25 through a tragic swimming accident, Henry and Samuel are now with our Lord. 

We miss you both. You will be in our hearts forever!

YOUR FRIENDS AT CFNA!

Samuel neal. May 6, 1998, Pleebo city, liberia, to june 25, 2016, st. Louis, mo

Moving Beyond The Limit!

Enjoying fellowship

Christian Friends of New Americans (CFNA) is excited to announce that a new Ethiopian Evangelical Church of Mekane Yesus (EECMY) congregation has been planted in St. Louis, Missouri. Rev. Theodros (Teddy) Workeneh, an ordained minister of the EECMY and now a graduate student at Concordia Seminary, serves as the Pastor. He also serves as a Facilitator for CFNA.

The members of this congregation, usually referenced as the Ethiopian/Eritrean Bible Fellowship, held its first meeting at the CFNA Peace Center in April, 2015. It now meets at Zion Lutheran Church Maryland Heights, a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS). The relocation was very much driven by the fact that larger numbers of Ethiopians and Eritreans are now living in this area.

rev. workeneh standing second from the right, with fellowship members

Now in its foundation stage, the members of the Fellowship are very excited to see what the Lord is going to do! My vision is to transform the entire Ethiopian and Eritrean community in St. Louis and beyond through an exponential church planting movement led by catalytic leaders who bring others into a relationship with Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

This happened because of your support for CFNA, which also received substantial support for this effort from the National Mission Board of the LCMS. It is entirely true that planting a church is one of the most rewarding things you can do to advance the Kingdom of God. Nevertheless, this is a very challenging task, especially when you start from scratch among an emerging immigrant community. Therefore, pray for us and help us by all means to expand God’s Kingdom among these people.

By Rev. Theodros Workeneh

Contact Information:

• Pastor Theodros Workeneh - 314-688-6483

• Dr. Allan Buckman - 314-249-8340

Storytelling at the Peace Center

“The Peace Center is where we come to do homework, have fun, and learn about God.”

This spring, after-school tutoring kids and tutors had a chance to tell their story through video. The Lutheran Foundation supported CFNA by sending Pastor Stanish and Christa Earl to a Digital Storytelling class with Channel 9 Ninelab. We captured video informally during a few weeks of tutoring and were able to include footage from our annual field trip to Ted Drewes.

All of the children spoke of how they learn about Jesus and learn to see God at tutoring. Through relationships with tutors and hearing the Word regularly, the kids in our program are growing in faith and love. It takes a lot of dedicated tutors to make this kind of difference in their lives. To quote Henrietta, “And the tutors are the best thing ever!”

Meet some of the kids, experience tutoring with us, and hear about it in our own words:

By Christa Wilson Earl Chai V Shalom Lutheran Church 

LCMS Young Adults & CFNA

Craft Time

Julianna Shults serves The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod as Program Manager for the Lutheran Young Adult Corps. Here she shares her thought and observations regarding a recent LCMS Young Adults servant event at the Peace Center.

Just a few weekends ago, a group of eight young adults from the LCMS Young Adult Servant Event were blessed to serve at the Peace Center. This annual event offers young adults 18-30 a chance to serve, spend time together in Bible study, and learn about how ministries in St. Louis are sharing the Gospel throughout the year. Our major task was to work with Dave Shepley, a volunteer from Concordia Kirkwood, to begin the installation of a sump pump in the basement. It was hard, mucky work but we were able to break the cement, dig the hole and fill it with the pieces that will allow the sump pump to be put in soon. At the same time, other young adults, along with six New American students from the After School Program, worked on cleaning on the first and second floors. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to serve alongside some of the hardworking young people who connect with the Peace Center on a regular basis.

Heavily Enaged

In the afternoon, our group hosted a two hour Children’s program for students now on summer break. Our Bible story, games, crafts, snacks and music focused on how Jesus welcomes children. We wanted to reinforce how much Jesus loves us and wants to be with us, no matter how young or old. We ended our afternoon with a silly game and water balloons! Exhausted at the end of a long day, we celebrated with Dr. Stanish Stanley by cooking a delicious Indian meal.

One young adult commented that it was nice to connect to ministries and volunteers who work with CFNA day in and day out. These short term events last only a few days and often do projects that seem insignificant in the grand scheme of ministry. But in just a day, many important tasks can be accomplished and it can open our eyes to the need in our own neighborhood. We are grateful to all the hard work of Dr. Stanley, Pastor Allan and Carol Buckman and so many others who hosted us.

We pray for them our Lord’s blessings as they continue to share the Gospel with so many.

By Julianna Shults Program Manager – Lutheran Young Adult Corps LCMS Youth Ministry

After School Tutoring 2015-16

At Ted Drews

“Pastor Stanish, can I come to the Peace Center today?… I promise to be really good and well-behaved for the rest of the year” said Marbati Tuka, a 10 year old New American kid from Eritrea, as I picked up the phone. Marbati’s words were just a sample of the many such conversations I had during the 2015-16 school year with the 94 students registered for the After School Tutoring program at the Peace Center. Meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays, refugee kids found tutors willing to help with homework, play academic skill related games, and teach Christian life values through dance and art. Interestingly, for many of them the Bible time with visiting LCMS pastors served as their program highlight!

With few exceptions, the New American children found the Peace Center an inviting place where they could interact with friends and learn from American tutors. And it was not only the students, but also the tutors who experienced a genuine sense of fulfillment. Rich Schaefer, just completing his 7th year as a volunteer tutor, summed up the hope and joy of Christian witness by stating that “when one sees the children mature over the course of the year in behavior that displays the love and teaching of Christ, it is truly worth rejoicing and participating in this program.”

This joy and hope was in full display on the 24th of May 2016 when the tutoring program at CFNA closed for the year with a short worship program followed by an ice cream social at nearby Ted Drewes. For all the students, representing 11 birth nations, the year offered not only learning opportunities but also provided for the development of life skills. None of this would have been possible had it not been for the almost 40 volunteer tutors who crossed cultural boundaries in their attempts to provide Christian service and witness.

To see this in action, view the video below, and please join us in offering thanks to our gracious Lord for another successful After School Tutoring program at the Peace Center.

By Rev. Dr. Stanish Stanley Christ Memorial Lutheran Church

Coleman Geraci - Volunteer Of The Month

Volunteer of the Month

Seminarian Coleman Geraci

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Risen Lord Jesus Christ! Amen!I am Seminarian Coleman Geraci and bring greetings from Concordia St. Louis! As a part of our curriculum in Seminary, I have been given the opportunity to volunteer at the Peace Center’s Afterschool Program for CFNA. On Thursday afternoons, I get to work with collectively about 40 children from ages 7-12, but specifically with about six 10 and 11 year olds. The experience has been grand.

The Peace Center has provided me an opportunity to work with these children in several areas–academically, socially, and spiritually. We have spent time working on word puzzles, mathematical pattern recognition, card games, physical activity, as well as participating in Chapel services. The children have been responsive to most of the activities and it is a pleasure to see them grow in both their knowledge and maturity.

Being able to work with these children has been both a challenge and a blessing. The challenge is to communicate properly to them the importance of virtue and good character in a way that is not overly heady or theoretical. In this opportunity, I have had to transfer the lofty, academic knowledge from Seminary to on the ground application and response to the children. The blessing is the fruit of seeing them progress, although slowly at times, in both their character and wisdom.

I am thankful for the opportunity to serve at the Peace Center and am blessed by the practical engagement of Jesus words, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

By Coleman Geraci, Seminarian

Three Again!

rev. sam thompson, jacob, seti and jasper rai, joel basnet rohan rai and rev. mike okine

There were three again! On Sunday, May 8th, 2016 three more Nepali children were baptized at Messiah Lutheran Church in the name of our God, the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The names of the children are Rohan Rai (12), Jasper Rai (4), and Jacob Rai (1). After living in South Dakota for two years, they moved to St. Louis four months ago with their mother Seti.Seti had already been baptized as an adult, and she did not believe that children should be baptized. She joined us in our Saturday Bible study and gradually came to believe that children also needed to be baptized because baptism is a gift of God for all people regardless of their ages. Instruction for the baptism took place at their home. It was led by Pastor Sam Thompson and Pastor Mike Okine.We praise God for continuing to work to bring people, especially a growing number of New Americans, into His eternal kingdom. That is His most important desire. And we thank Him for using people who are simultaneously sinners and saints to accomplish His goal.Forty-three recently arrived Nepali people now attend Messiah on a regular basis.Pastor Mike Okine, Senior Pastor, Messiah Lutheran Church

Who Is Served?

Jennifer Janssen with craft class students at the peace center

Several years ago, in preparation for one of our tutor training sessions for our After School Tutoring Program, we compiled a report entitled “Who is Served?” As we recruited tutors for the program, it became evident that it would be helpful for us to take a closer look at those we were serving and use that information to help us make decisions about how to improve our program. Sources of information included written registration forms and conversations with facilitators, drivers, tutors, and the children themselves.

During the 2015 – 2016 school year we had 94 children who registered for our After School Tutoring Program. Our largest group was the 12- to 14-year-old group. In past years we had very few students below grade 1, but this year we had 11 who were in pre-kindergarten or kindergarten. Our population was evenly distributed between male and female students. New birth countries represented in this year’s population included Congo, El Salvador, Rwanda, and Senegal. Approximately two-thirds of our children attend St. Louis Public Schools. When asked about religion or church affiliation, the majority of the registration forms showed that the children professed to be “Christian”. In other words, most of these students and their families have found a church home, with a little less than 20 percent now attending nearby LCMS congregations.

Each new school year is a new year for our After School Tutoring Program as well.  A number of children return to our program year after year, but there are always new children joining the program. Now you know a little bit about those who were served this past school year. Who will be served next year? We don’t know, but we will be planning over the summer for those whom God sends!

By Sandy Gerber St. Johns Lutheran Church (City)

Welcome Kerry!

KERRY POZARICWelcome to CFNA

Kerry Pozaric

CFNA extends a warm welcome to Kerry as she takes over Business Manager responsibilities from Marjorie Schmeerbauch, who will now focus primarily upon installing and implementing the CFNA SalesForce database.

Kerry grew up in St. Louis (attended Lindbergh High School) and then graduated from The University of Illinois with an Accounting Degree. She worked in Public Accounting with KPMG LLP for 18 years. Kerry has worked for Bonhomme Presbyterian Church for the past 6 years as their accountant.

Kerry has been married to Steve for almost 20 years and has two daughters. Elizabeth is finishing her Freshman year at Kirkwood High School and Madelyn is finishing 7th grade at Christ Community Lutheran School. The Pozarics are members of Concordia Lutheran Church, Kirkwood.

When she's not working or driving her girls around to their various activities, Kerry enjoys exercise, tennis, volunteering, and Bible Study. She is also attending the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans as a Family Group Leader this July.

Again Kerry, WELCOME!