On March 30, 2016 St James Lutheran Church, Northrop was struck by lightning and burned down.
The elementary school suffered water and smoke damage.
Within two days a group of people began organizing a benefit for St James Lutheran Church and School, Northrop to help with recovery and rebuilding. The event was spearheaded by Lori Rusert and Dawn Halverson of Truman. They were like two energizer bunnies—planning, asking, running, coordinating and giving. It was decided to have a Hog Roast at Martin Luther High School, Northrop on April 23rd. Within three hours of choosing the date, five hogs were donated. A group of men offered to roast the hogs. Soon area grocery stores and bakeries offered to provide over 100 dozen buns. Fifteen area churches were asked to donate salads or bars for the meal. The Truman Lions Club offered to prepare and donate their secret recipe of famous baked beans. Two 18 gallon kegs of root beer were donated. Tableware, napkins and miscellaneous items were donated. Gift cards to offset costs were donated. The Martin County Dairy Association donated cash to purchase 21 gallons of milk. All of these donations kept events costs down to almost nothing.
Martin Luther High School acted as the message, public relations and “command center”. The benefit was given the title “Anew from the Ashes”. Offers of help and donations came from friends and strangers, near and far, via phone, e-mail, US postal, Facebook and in person. The outpouring of support was overwhelming at times and similar to an avalanche.
In addition to the meal, the committee chose to have a “Come and Go” Gift Card and Bake Sale. They felt that this would be simpler than having a silent auction that involves a great deal of follow-up work. Volunteers were assigned geographic areas to contact businesses asking for donations of gift cards or certificates. Over $4,500 in gift cards were available for guests to purchase at their face value that evening. All but four cards were purchased. A free will donation bake sale was held also. The amount of delicious baked goods that came in was remarkable, covering about 15 banquet tables. Only a handful of items were leftover.
The event was scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. and guests began arriving at 3:30 p.m. Many stayed for several hours, visiting, catching up with long-lost friends and offering encouragement. It was a home-coming for many. Visitors came from as far away as Hawaii. Some didn’t have close personal ties with SJN, but were brothers and sisters in Christ wanting to give their love and support. Many were former members or students who “came home” for the event to grieve together and give back to SJN.
The SJN pastor, teachers, staff and members were on the receiving end. It was a time of hope and healing for them. It felt as though we were in the midst of the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. The outpouring of love and support for SJN was very uplifting and encouraging. Givers expressed gratitude for being given the opportunity to give to SJN in some small way. The inspiration for helping SJN came from Isaiah 61:3-4. “To grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.”
At the end of the evening 1,100 people were served. Only a little meat was left, a smidgen of salad remained and the beans, root beer and buns had disappeared; but hearts were full, faith was strengthened and hope was renewed. What stood out to everyone is: Christ is in the midst of His people providing love, comfort and hope through His people.
May God bless and guide the members of St James Lutheran as they rebuild and prepare to serve the community for future generations.
The elementary school suffered water and smoke damage.
Within two days a group of people began organizing a benefit for St James Lutheran Church and School, Northrop to help with recovery and rebuilding. The event was spearheaded by Lori Rusert and Dawn Halverson of Truman. They were like two energizer bunnies—planning, asking, running, coordinating and giving. It was decided to have a Hog Roast at Martin Luther High School, Northrop on April 23rd. Within three hours of choosing the date, five hogs were donated. A group of men offered to roast the hogs. Soon area grocery stores and bakeries offered to provide over 100 dozen buns. Fifteen area churches were asked to donate salads or bars for the meal. The Truman Lions Club offered to prepare and donate their secret recipe of famous baked beans. Two 18 gallon kegs of root beer were donated. Tableware, napkins and miscellaneous items were donated. Gift cards to offset costs were donated. The Martin County Dairy Association donated cash to purchase 21 gallons of milk. All of these donations kept events costs down to almost nothing.
Martin Luther High School acted as the message, public relations and “command center”. The benefit was given the title “Anew from the Ashes”. Offers of help and donations came from friends and strangers, near and far, via phone, e-mail, US postal, Facebook and in person. The outpouring of support was overwhelming at times and similar to an avalanche.
In addition to the meal, the committee chose to have a “Come and Go” Gift Card and Bake Sale. They felt that this would be simpler than having a silent auction that involves a great deal of follow-up work. Volunteers were assigned geographic areas to contact businesses asking for donations of gift cards or certificates. Over $4,500 in gift cards were available for guests to purchase at their face value that evening. All but four cards were purchased. A free will donation bake sale was held also. The amount of delicious baked goods that came in was remarkable, covering about 15 banquet tables. Only a handful of items were leftover.
The event was scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. and guests began arriving at 3:30 p.m. Many stayed for several hours, visiting, catching up with long-lost friends and offering encouragement. It was a home-coming for many. Visitors came from as far away as Hawaii. Some didn’t have close personal ties with SJN, but were brothers and sisters in Christ wanting to give their love and support. Many were former members or students who “came home” for the event to grieve together and give back to SJN.
The SJN pastor, teachers, staff and members were on the receiving end. It was a time of hope and healing for them. It felt as though we were in the midst of the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. The outpouring of love and support for SJN was very uplifting and encouraging. Givers expressed gratitude for being given the opportunity to give to SJN in some small way. The inspiration for helping SJN came from Isaiah 61:3-4. “To grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.”
At the end of the evening 1,100 people were served. Only a little meat was left, a smidgen of salad remained and the beans, root beer and buns had disappeared; but hearts were full, faith was strengthened and hope was renewed. What stood out to everyone is: Christ is in the midst of His people providing love, comfort and hope through His people.
May God bless and guide the members of St James Lutheran as they rebuild and prepare to serve the community for future generations.
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Thank you to all who helped make this night such a wonderful success.
Thank you to all who came and gave from the heart. The bake sale donations were phenomenal. The salads, bars and cookies that were donated for the meal were delicious and we had just a few leftover. Thank you to the Truman Lions Club and all our wonderful volunteers. Thank you to the following businesses for their gift card donations: Fairmont Anonymous-$25 GC to Fleet & Farm Arby's--10 free sandwich cards Beantown-4-$10 GC Blue Box Bridal--$25 GC Blush Salon--one manicure GC $24 value Bowlmor Lanes--6-coupons for free bowling @ $3.25 each Brewkaz--5-$5 GC Cutting Edge Fitness--2-3 month membership $150 each Dairy Freeze--$10 GC Dairy Queen--GC for 1 DQ Log $19.15, 1 BBQ Combo Meal $4.65, 1-Six Pack Dilly Bars $9.07 Dee's Floral & Design--3-$30 GC Doolittles Carpet & Paints--3--$150 GC Edward D Jones, Mandi & Chad Kosbab--$150 HyVee GC El Agave--2-$10 GC Extra Touch--1-$10 GC Fairmont Theater--20 complimentary movie passes (19 with popcorn & pop) $236 value Good News Bookstore--$20 GC Hair Boutique--one free hair cut and perm-$66 value Hardees-coupon for 1 small combo, 1 medium combo, 1 large combo Hawkins Chevrolet--2-VIP Convenience Cards=$25 each Ivy Blue Boutique--$20 GC Lori Behrens, doTERRA--Aroma Touch Technique GC=$35, Essentail Oils Intro Kit=$25, 3-$5 GC McDonald's of Fairmont--4-$25 GC and 44 Free Sundae Cards @ $1.19 each Out on a Limb--Brent & Jennie Oberdieck--$35 GC for 4 personalized glasses of your choice Pat Steuber's Doll Clothes--$50 GC Perkins of Fairmont--2--Free Pie GC @$11 ea, 2--1 Dozen Muffins GC @$15 ea, $25 GC Poppes Store & Car Wash--4-$25 GC Royalty Rides Limo, Taxi or Party Bus--3-$25 Punch Cards Derek & Lynn Schwieger--2-$75 GC for 15# of lean ground beef The Ranch 2-$10 GC Sheeer Radiance-4 GC for hair cut @ $13 each Shoe Sensation--$25 GC Smith's Greenhouse--$10 GC Sovell Jewelry--$25 GC Thompson Haugen Jewelers--$25 GC Visual Identity Vault--$50 GC and $40 Vault Bucks to SJN families Wells Federal Bank, Fairmont--2-$50 Visa GC White Orchid--$25 GC Granada: Premier Design Jewelry, Sarah Emmer--$50 GC Granada Bar & Grill--3-$10 GC Lakefield: Hi Lo Restuarant & Catering--4-$20 GC Madelia: Sweet Indeed--$25 GC Mankato: LIV Aveda Salon & Spa--2-$25 GC Buffalo Wild Wings--$20 GC & Sauce & Seasoning Pack=$35 value Boulder Tap House--4-$10 GC Drummers--$10 GC ElMazatlan--$20 GC LaTerraza--Lunch or Dinner for Two=$25 value Northrop: Montana Tree Service-$50 GC for Stump Removal, $100 GC Tree work Northrop Baseball Team-20-$10 packs of Concession Stand Dollars Old Northrop Bar-Tuesday Pizza Night for two GC=$15 and Tuesday Pizza Night for four =$40 Sherburn: Amborn Lumber$25 GC Cup & Saucer Cafe--$20 GC Sherbrun Nursery & Floral--$25 GC Spirit Lake, IA: Creative Spirits--2 $35 GC for painting St James: Super 8 Hotel--Free night in specialty suite-$125 value, Pool & Party Package-$100 value Truman: Boekett Building & Lumber--$50 GC Kitzerow Repair--GC for one free oil lchange of 5 qt oil--$30 value Duane & Lynda Meyer--$25 GC to Applebees, $25 to Olive Garden, $25 to Red Lobster On Site Massage-Tammy Becker-2-60 minute massages @ $50 each and 2-30 minute massages @ $30 each Truman Flowers and Gifts-$10 GC Welcome: Amanda Hartwig Thirty One GC for $20 Welcome Meats--$25 GC Valero Renewables--$100 Walmart GC St Louis, MO Concordia Publishing House--2-$50 GC Anonymous: Minnesota Pork Producers--$20 GC for pork purchase anywhere |
Thank you to these food donors:
American Dairy Association Area churches Casey's, Truman Culligan Fareway Geistfeld Brothers Green Mill HyVee Lily Creek Farms Marketplace Foods, Winnebago Melvin Evans Nancy Jo's Catering, Truman Profinium Protein Sources Fitzsimmons Sam's Club State Bank, Fairmont Sunshine Foodstores, Madelia Sweet Indeed, Madelia Tow Distributing, Mankato Truman Café Truman Lions Club Walmart Wells Federal Bank, Fairmont Sentinel Fairmont Photo Press Truman Tribune Scrap This, Scrap That Many area churches for their help and words of comfort. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod MN South District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Lutheran Care Ministries Concordia Gospel Outreach Elm Creek Agronomy, Claire Schmidt, Jr. and Tracy Wiemers Northrop Baseball Team Thank you to these cash donors: Anonymous-$20 Bank Midwest--$100 Day Plumbing and Heating--$150 Directors and Employees of Federated Rural Electric, Jackson-$505 KJLY Radio=$100 Peterson/Anthony Insurance, Fairmont-$250 State Bank of Fairmont-$250 Truman's Lions Club-$250 Tennyson Construction, Truman-$50 Fairmont Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans $750 Thrivent Action Team Funding $250 Many churches, schools, groups, and individuals |
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