CFNA Christmas Party
/“Pastor Stanish is here…let’s go to the Christmas party” was Magdelin’s shout out to her two siblings as I knocked on their door on the evening of Tuesday, December 13th.
Magdelin and her family are refugees from Sudan, having arrived in St. Louis via Egypt just there months ago. They have been attending the CFNA After School Tutoring program for just over a month, but have already found new friends such as Deepshyas, who is from Nepal. He was quick to remind Magdelin of the Christmas presents they would be receiving at the party.
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The event was held at Epiphany Lutheran Church, and approximately 40 refugee children from Nepal, Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Sudan participated. They were joined by 25 volunteers from several host congregations. Primary organizers for the event were Mrs. Jennifer Janssen and Mrs. Amy Ziegler, both of whom teach After School Tutoring classes at the Peace Center.
Mrs. Sandy Gerber served as the registrar for the event which included table activities, crafts, a dance game and a great chicken dinner provided by the Umetulisha food ministry. For dessert everyone enjoyed a piece of the special birthday cake celebrating the birthday of baby Jesus.
After dinner everyone made their way to the church sanctuary for an opening prayer by Pastor Tim Staffeld, and a rendering of the Christmas story through role playing, led by Rev. Dr. Mike Zeigler. As this 20-minute devotion drew to a close the children received their Christmas gifts. These had been generously provided by Lutheran High School South, Christ Community Lutheran School and Christ Memorial Lutheran Church.
CFNA is sincerely grateful to the various partners, together with the more than 20 volunteers, who made this party possible. Speaking for herself and others, Desange from Rwanda shared, “I loved this, and especially enjoyed the presents, and being part of the Christmas story.”
By Rev. Stanish Stanley
CFNA Executive Director
