From Reverend Don Crissinger-Clark                                                               

      Making a Difference in God's world

    The year 2010 has only just begun and yet we

     here at First Presbyterian have already touched

     many lives and helped to make things better for

     a lot of people who have walked through these

     doors ...or whose pain we have felt even though

     they live hours away from St. James, Minnesota.

     Haiti Relief

     We have been watching and reading about the

     continuing problems in Haiti and as of the end of

     January, $925.00 was raised by gifts for Haiti

     relief. I have also received numerous calls from

     people who have wanted to send money direct to

     Presbytery, so I firmly believe that well over

     $1,000.00 has been sent to Haitian Relief thru

     the PCUSA from this congregation.

     Food Relief

     Although numbers were down in both the food

     distributions we held in January because of the

     cold and bad weather conditions...we still

     managed to help many families who needed an

     extra boost. At the food for all, January 23, we

     served 92 families-senior citizens to young

     families with children. What do we get in return?

     The thank yous' from so many who tell us that

     this makes a difference. And of course this

     program wouldn't happen without the help of our

     local merchants. Thank you to Pamida, Super

     Fair and Paul's Food Pride for making a

     difference. 

The last week of January we hosted a

Surplus Food Distribution Truck and again numbers were down especially because of road conditions and the cold, but we still managed to serve over 275 families. These are just a few of the volunteers who

were here that day. A number of our youth group.

Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts Big Buddy participants and

lots of people from all over the country who came

and unloaded the truck and set up. Thanks to all who

helped that day.

Local Mission

The year has just begun, but we have already helped

a number of families with small children by giving

them assistance in keeping their heat on and their

lights on in their homes. The money isn't just given

away with no thought, but the money they are given

helps them to keep going and they have to find the

resources to keep the lights and heat on in their

homes. Helping Hand:  And, on Sunday, January 31st, our Sunday School children presented a check

to Gus Zender in the amount of $94.50 for young

Alex who is finally going to be receiving a kidney

transplant.