On September 9, members of our Nativity Community participated in God’s Work Our Hands projects.  15 volunteers painted and cleaned at Rezek House (2-year transitional living program for homeless youth ages 16-21).  Volunteers reported that it was a great way to experience God’s work as they prepared a new apartment for a mother and child to move into the following week.

The second project included donating approximately $1700 in household goods and filling 16 laundry baskets that go to families in the FISH (Families in Safe Hands) program as they transition from homelessness to apartments.

Thank you for your generosity and commitment of time and energy to make this day a success!

Nativity Lutheran Church is in the process of redesigning our green space. We want to expand our vegetable gardens to grow more produce for Little Kitchen Food Shelf and transition our hillsides to pollinator gardens.

Our hillsides pose several challenges:

• We have a problem with invasive species and we have steep hills that are difficult to work on.
• Buckthorn is growing in our west hillside between the church and neighboring homes. Buckthorn out-competes native plants for nutrients, light and moisture. It serves as host to pests and it threatens the future of forests, wetlands, prairies and natural habitats.
• Canadian thistle is growing on our north and east hillsides. It is classified as a noxious weed, spreading quickly and displacing native species.
• Our steep hills are particularly challenging. They are hard to work on, prone to erosion if we disturb the soil with weeding and if we were to use chemicals there is a chance the chemicals will flow downhill to our neighbors and into the watershed.

In researching our landscaping challenges, we have found an innovative solution to our problem that will allow us to demonstrate responsible stewardship, expand our outreach and provide a learning opportunity for the youth and adults within our community. Experts in land management are turning to goat grazing to help manage sensitive landscape. Over the past few years, there have been an increasing number of park and watershed managers who are turning to goats to help control buckthorn and other invasive species.

We are bringing in goats to graze our hillsides and serve as a model of responsible stewardship.

• They will draw attention to natural spaces,
• Raise awareness of invasive species,
• Allow us to control our problem without chemicals,
• Begin transition of our hillsides to low-maintenance, native plants which will also serve as pollinator gardens.

We plan to host learning events to provide an opportunity for local preschools and scouting groups. We feel this will be an ideal opportunity to help teach our children about:

1. caring for creation,
2. caring for animals, and
3. invasive species and the importance of biodiversity.

We will hire Goat Dispatch, a family-owned business that provides goats for temporary grazing. The goats will be coming in August and will be with use for 10-14 days.

Stay tuned for updates and an event schedule.

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UPCOMING SUSTAINABILITY/ENVIRONMENT EVENTS

Over the past 5 years members of our Nativity Community have very generously contributed to Lutheran Social Service Metro Homeless Youth programs through our fundraising efforts  such as Rockin Out Team Homelessness, Where Love Can Grow in, and our Teen Art Exhibit.  The result was accumulated funds of over $20,000.  To add to this, a couple months ago John Hensel and his sister, Jean, came forward and asked to make a sizeable contribution to Metro Homeless Youth.

Karen Weiberg and Gail Bergsven, leaders of the Nativity Homelessness Outreach Team and liaisons to LSS Metro Homeless Youth, met with Jen Fairbourne, Director of the LSS Metro Homeless Youth Programs and made a decision to contribute the majority of our funds to the following programs:

• Camp Knutson….$5000 (allowing 15 youth to attend camp)
• Groveland Food For Youth….$5000 (stipend to cover youth working at the food shelf)
• Youth Leadership Council……$5000 (seed money to get this program started)
• Furnishings and mattresses…$5000 ( to furnish transitional apartments)
• Kaleidoscope Healing Arts ….$2400 (workshops dealing with trauma, stress, etc)

Thank you Nativity for caring about our youth at risk.  You have made a difference in the lives of many  young people.

My family and I have been members at Nativity for a number of years and our children also attend the Nativity Child and Family Center.  The church is important to us for many reasons, but some of the main points that come to mind include the charitable events and causes that the church participates in as well as the people that organize and invest their own time and effort accordingly.  From the team of pastors and staff at the church to the volunteers that are involved donating time, I think financial donations are also a very important component of the church.  My family and I choose to make financial donations to the church because we trust and believe in Nativity!  At this time in our lives we are trying to teach our children the importance of the church and the opportunity to be generous within the church.  I remember my parents teaching me about donating to church at a young age, and our intent is to teach our children the same values.  I know that financial contributions to the church can and do help many other people but the donations also help our family mentally and spiritually recognizing that the opportunity to donate to the church is something that improves our lives too!

-Luke Juhl

The Plan for Giving pledge card is different than the Simply Giving signup form. We would like to receive a Plan for Giving from all Nativity members. We are encouraging those who do not already give by automatic withdrawal/Simply Giving to prayerfully consider it.

I have been thinking about what my family has received from Nativity and why we give to Nativity.

The “why” is straightforward; we know that we directly benefit from the services and the community that this church creates. Nativity helps shape the conversations we have with our kids about our faith and values – and reminds us that those conversations are critical to our growth and ability to form healthy relationships. Some of the best and most challenging conversations we’ve had with our kids were instigated by a lesson taught by Tori during Faith Formation, an experience shared by Kelly during Pop Tops (Popular Topics), a community/faith event hosted by Meet Me At The River, and a conversation in the Fellowship Hall about affordable housing or homelessness. I’m so thankful for those experiences that come from the wisdom and connection that the church’s leadership and staff cultivate with our community and neighbors.

I think about the sermons, fellowship, and service opportunities as buds on a plant. Financial giving is one of the ways we can help feed the roots of the plant, so the buds can grow, and it takes all our actions and support to make sure the buds can turn into vines that grow beyond the church’s walls. When we give financially on a regularly basis those generosity muscles get a little more use, so when we give it seems more natural. It feels like it comes more out of joy and less out of obedience. We begin to feel thankful for being able to help feed the roots, so the vines can continue to grow.

We still make decisions based more on fear and greed, but I think it happens less often. This connection formed with Nativity and our community reminds us that we need to think about how investment returns are much broader than financial gains. We can live our lives knowing relationships and the love of God that we see in our community can have a much greater value than a bank account getting bigger. I encourage you all to think about how stretching the “generosity muscle” can help form stronger roots for you, our church, and community.

-Rachel Dungca

The Plan for Giving pledge card is different than the Simply Giving signup form. We would like to receive a Plan for Giving from all Nativity members. We are encouraging those who do not already give by automatic withdrawal/Simply Giving to prayerfully consider it.