In the sanctuary at Sunne Lutheran Church in Wilton, N.D., vacation Bible schoolers wipe whipped cream off the altar. There are few globs on the floor, too.
On this special day, the students were promised the opportunity to hurl cream pies at their pastor, Paul Schauer. Pastor Paul kept his promise when they hit their goal of raising $700 to purchase supplies for LWR School Kits.
Paul has been pastor for 27 years at the 430-plus member church. “We have always done Lutheran World Relief projects of some sort,” he says. “Lutheran World Relief is OUR relief organization [because] it’s incredibly efficient.”
Scrounging for supplies
Sunne Lutheran members make quilts, baby care kits, personal care kits and, of course, school kits, which are assembled by a 40-person team.
Production of school kits has grown drastically the last six years. Each year, Pastor Paul issues a challenge. The first challenge was 100 kits. Then, he challenged members to make a kit for every family that attends, then one for every baptized congregation member. This year, the push is to send Lutheran World Relief at least 1,100 kits. Today, the church is at 1,220 and counting!
Scrounging for supplies, as he calls it, is part of the challenge. Pastor Paul and the School Kit team constantly look for sales. Not that long ago, he found boxes of pencils for 14 cents. He got the same price for scissors.
Living God's love
The congregation raises money for the supplies, which is how he baked up the idea for the pie challenge.
When the $700 goal was reached, he had but one request: have good aim! A few pies missed the target, but eventually Pastor Paul met his fate and got a full face of pie! And he didn't mind one bit.
“It’s really a lot of fun seeing people get involved,” Pastor Paul says. “We’re really big on living God’s love. Plus, we help out any local kids who need school supplies, too.”
Thank you, Sunne Lutheran Church, for your creativity and generosity! And special congratulations to Pastor Paul and his fiancé, who formed a loving connection over the past year as they spent time together gathering supplies for school kits.