MINOT CHURCH PROVIDES MEALS TO FLOOD VICTIMS

First Presbyterian Church of Minot, N.D., is doing its best to keep people fed as the city struggles against the destruction caused by the worst flood in more than 130 years.

"We're holding our own," said Steve Oster, the church's director of youth and children's ministries, but the church's food trailer has been getting a workout. As of July 7, 15 days after the Souris River poured over the city's dikes, 18,000 meals have been served through the trailer in various locations around the city. 

An article in the Huffington Post noted that the flood "broke a more than 130-year-old record for high water. In some cases, the river reached the eaves of homes. A Federal Emergency Management Agency survey done by airplane found about 800 houses covered by more than 10 feet of water and 2,400 under at least 6 feet."

First Presbyterian's effort to provide meals has been subsidized by Baker Hughes, an oilfield service company that is working in northwestern North Dakota, and contributions that have been coming in from around the country, Oster said.

For Oster, who has now become the church's disaster relief coordinator and go-between with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the work has been nonstop since the flood. Sixty-nine homes of the congregation's members have been flooded and that number "doesn't include water in the basement or backed up sewers," Oster said.

In addition to the homes that have been lost, Oster said three public schools have been flooded and his congregation, located out of the flooded area, has already been asked by the city to house an elementary school in the fall.

To assist Minot's First Presbyterian Church in flood relief efforts, direct contributions can be made by check to Minot First Presbyterian Church, 1000 3rd Street NE, Minot, ND 58703. The memo line of the check should indicate "flood relief."

PDA has already deployed a response team to Minot and will provide long-term assistance in the area. Bob Houser, executive presbyter in Central Nebraska and a national response team member of PDA, led the initial PDA response team in North Dakota.

KWANZAA CHURCH, PARTNERS PRESENT CONFERENCE ON TORNADO RECOVERY: Join Kwanzaa Community Church and a host of community partners for an all-day conference, called "Tornadoes, Tears, and Trauma: A conference on recovery, resilience and restoration," being held on Saturday, July 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the University of Minnesota's UROC location, 2001 Plymouth Avenue North in Minneapolis. The conference will feature presentations by childhood trauma expert Dr. Bravada Akinsanya, and will also feature breakout sessions with small group discussions.  The conference will examine the healing power of childhood resilience, how it can be enhanced and how it can lead them toward healing and restoration. Additional partners involved in planning of the conference include the University of Minnesota, The City of Minneapolis Department of Health and Support, New Salem Baptist Church, and a host of other community and faith-based organizations. Conference details and registration information are at "Tornado Recovery and Resilience."

PRES HOUSE KEEPS PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION: The Presbyterian Student Center Foundation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, known more commonly as Pres House, will keep its property tax exemption after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker vetoed a provision in Wisconsin's budget that would have made Pres House pay property taxes. Pres House, a ministry of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, drew support for the veto from throughout the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), including letters to Walker from the synod and from Gradye Parsons, stated clerk of the PC(USA), Cynthia Bolbach, moderator of the 219th General Assembly, and Linda Valentine, executive director of the General Assembly Mission Council. A story published in the Wisconsin State Journal newspaper just prior to Walker's veto noted, "Gov. Scott Walker has sided with the Presbyterian student center at UW-Madison, saying he plans to veto a provision in the 2011-13 biennial budget that would have forced the campus ministry to pay property taxes on its student apartment building. ... It means the 51-unit Pres House Apartments will remain tax exempt, sparing it an annual cost of about $200,000." The complete story can be found at "Pres House."

COMMUNICATORS CONFERENCE PLANNED IN LAKES AND PRAIRIES: The biennial Synod of Lakes and Prairies Communicators Conference is scheduled from noon to noon, Thursday and Friday, Sept. 15-16, at the Holiday Inn in Eagan, Minn. Conference workshops will include storytelling, social networking boundaries and newsletter options. Duane Sweep, associate for communications for the synod, said the conference is being designed for communication and administrative staff within the synod and beyond. Registration information will be available in two weeks.

MILWAUKEE PRESBYTERY MOVES TO NEW OFFICES: The offices of the Presbytery of Milwaukee have moved. The new office address is 6767 W. Greenfield Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53214. The telephone number to the office is 414.292.2740, and the FAX number is 414.292.2750.

'SOWER' NEWSLETTER POSTED ONLINE: The June issue of The Sower, the newsletter of Presbyterian Women in the Synod of Lakes and Prairies, has been posted on the synod's website. Among the items in the newsletter is a story on a "mini" mission experience with Dakota Presbyterian Women. The newsletter can be found at "Mission Experience."

ARMSS, POAMN PLAN JOINT CONFERENCE IN OCTOBER: The Association of Retired Ministers, their Spouses or Survivors and the Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network will hold a joint conference Oct. 11-14 at La Quinta Inns & Suites in San Antonio, Texas. Conference details and registration information can be found at "Joint Conference."