Acorn Update

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IT’S BUTTER BRAID TIME!
Our Farmington Lutheran Youth are selling butter braids as a fundraiser for their summer opportunities!   If you want to support one of our students directly, you can purchase through them.  If not, click here to purchase from our general store.  Our sale will start March 10 and continue through March 31 with delivery on April 14, in time for Easter!

PALM SUNDAY PANCAKE BREAKFAST
Sunday, April 13
FLC Youth that are heading to Colorado this summer are hosting a pancake breakfast on Sunday, April 13 from 9:00am to 11:00am. Presale tickets will be available to purchase on March 30 and April 6, the cost is $6/plate. Are you a youth attending the trip and interested in helping out? Sign up HERE.

BREWED THEOLOGY
Tuesday, March 25
"Wisdom of the Generations"
This month we're discussing generations - what defines them, what stereotypes they (and we) carry, and how understanding and wisdom is shared among them. After looking at generational categories, we'll explore child-parent-grandparent relationships, and how we live into (or out of) the relationships that form us. Whether you've attended Brewed Theology before or not, you've welcome to the Long Branch at 7pm (earlier for supper) on Tuesday, March 25.

FOOD ON THE FOURTH
Sunday, March 23
Stop by the office or gathering space for a green bag. This month the food shelf is asking for: cereal, cookies, canned pineapple, large apple juice, baked beans, refried beans, tomato sauce, tomato paste, BBQ sauce, ramen, powdered sugar, brown sugar, kleenex, sandwich bags, kitchen trash bags, sara wrap, shampoo, conditioner, baby wipes

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WEDNESDAYS DURING LENT
March 19, 26, April 2 & 9 
***Reminder that Wednesday FLCTime and PreCon do not meet during Lent
5:00 - 6:00pm   Lenten Meal (Hot Dogs)
6:00 - 6:40pm   Holden Evening Prayer
6:00-7:30pm Confirmation youth attend Holden & meet with small groups
6:45 - 7:30pm   Joyful Ringers Rehearsal
7:30 - 8:15pm   Sanctuary Choir Rehearsal

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MEET YOUR FLC COUNCIL MEMBERS!
Karen Hulscher

What are your favorite things about Farmington Lutheran?
The friendships I have found; the acceptance and love and kindness extended to everyone; the openness to new ideas and experiences; the joy and celebration of faith. And, always, the wonderful music.

Tell us about your family/your dear ones.
My husband, Kevin and I have been married for over 37 years. We have two children: Cody lives in South Dakota and Catelyn just moved back from SD. They have given us 4 amazing grandchildren whom we love to spend time with and spoil.

Describe your hobbies or how you like to spend free time.
Walking dogs, bicycling, reading. Visiting new places.

What is/was your profession?
I was a materials management specialist and buyer for Northern Natural Gas, a transmission pipeline company. I also am retired from the Army Reserve and served in the motor pool and the technical support section.

What is your favorite holiday? Why? 
My favorite holidays are the ones I spend with my family. Eating, talking, relaxing.

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MN FOODSHARE MARCH CAMPAIGN (Farmington Food Shelf)
March 1 through April 3
Farmington Food shelf is once again participating in the MN Foodshare Campaign. The more dollars and pounds of food we collect during the campaign, the more grant funds we will receive from MN FoodShare, increasing the power of your donation!
Donations may be dropped off on Mondays and Thursdays from 11:00am-5:30pm. The address is 510 Walnut St., south side of the building, door #9.  Monetary gifts are always welcome too and used to purchase food from Second Harvest at a very reduced cost. Checks should be made out to the Farmington Food Shelf if the donor wants the money to go directly to our local Farmington Food Shelf.
This is an important campaign, as the more dollars and pounds of food we collect at our site, the more grant money we will receive from MN-FoodShare, which is sponsored by GMCC (Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches). We saw a 35% increase in visits in 2004 compared to 2023 (and 2023 had a 50% from the previous year!). Thanks for your continued support.

THRIVENT CHOICE DOLLARS
2025 Choice Window Closes March 31
Thrivent Members! It's time to direct your 2025 Thrivent Choice dollars, and Farmington Lutheran would be grateful if you elected your dollars to support our ministry. Visit Thrivent.com/thriventchoice or you can call 800-847-4836 and when prompted, say “Thrivent Choice.”

TRANSITION TEAM UPDATE
Greetings FLC family,
The Transition Team would like to thank everyone who joined us on Feb 22nd for the “Our Story, Our Future” gathering! Your feedback and ideas were insightful, inspiring, and so valuable to this process. We couldn’t be more excited for the future of FLC. In the Sunshine room of the Narthex you will find a visual timeline of FLC’s past, present, and future. Be sure to take a few minutes to view what others have highlighted, and we invite you to add any milestones in your life, or the life of our church that are meaningful to you. You will also find a few worksheets asking for your feedback. We are all in this together! If you were not able to join us, we would still love to hear from you.
In addition, the Transition Team has spent the last several weeks gathering insights and engaging in conversations with individuals and small groups at FLC as well as exploring data about our surrounding community. Over the next month, we'll will take that feedback and work to gather themes, insights, and ideas that will help us build our Ministry Site Profile, the primary document used to seek our next pastoral leaders.
We look forward to gathering the congregation together soon to share the outputs of the last several months of work, as well as the next steps in the process. We continue to welcome your input, questions, suggestions, and prayers as we continue this journey.
Your Transition Team Co-Chairs,
Jared Rendell & Melissa Meyer 

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LIFT UP IN PRAYER
Roger Wikstrom, Dorothy Noland, Emil Bostrom, Shelly Garner, Larry Walsh, Shannon Walsh, Ben Farver, Alicia Farver, MaryAnn Rausch, Joan Johnson, Colleen, James and Shawn Engman, Marge Lancette

School students and staff, as they deal with the impact of fights at school
Family and friends of Sonja Anderson, as they grieve her death
Iris Briesacher, as she receives hospice care
Maude Zavitz and family, as they grieve the death of Maude’s husband, Jeremy
David Hins, as he begins treatment for cancer
Janet Hoag, mother of Angie Muehlenkamp, as she faces health concerns
Bill Bauman, friend of Peggy and Ron Reierson, as he battles cancer
Norma Patsche, mother of Mark Patsche, as she receives hospice care
Dan Hensche, partner of Anna Zappetillo, as he receives treatment for Non-Hodgkins lymphoma
Julie Hetland, as she receives more treatment for cancer
Larry Miller, cousin of Ron Reierson, as he battles cancer
Ann and Dave Garwick, parents of Kirsten Childe, and family as they manage Ann’s Lewey Body dementia
Sharon Broske, mother of Russ Howe, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer
Sarah Grafe, stepmother of Linda Landwehr, who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer

Please also include our active service members: Noah Bigbee, Meredith Gulsvig, Mackenzie Farran, and Mikkel Peterson in your prayers. 

Please continue to pray for our partners in ministry, including our Sister Congregation in Tanzania, Garland Hall Orphanage in Jamaica, & Camp Wapo.

We typically include loved ones on our prayer list for four weeks. If you would like a loved one listed longer or relisted, please contact the office.