Justice Conversations

We join in conversation about faith and justice in our world on the first and third Tuesdays of each month.   Sojourners magazine gives us a starting point for conversation.  Currently we are reading the main (long) articles from the June issue.  Articles are also available online.

Beginning in July we’ll be reading and discussing Necessary Risks: Challenges Privileged People Need to Face by Teri McDowell Ott.  Each chapter talks about a way to be personally involved in the work of justice. 

Order a book and plan to join us. See our calendar for the schedule.

Baby Shower for LaGrave Resident

We celebrated with a resident of LaGrave on First who’s expecting a baby boy later in June. Augustana Lutheran Church hosted a baby shower June 8 and members of both Augustana and Family of God brought gifts.

We originally thought we’d buy a stroller, but so did several other people!  We were able to return our stroller and buy lots of basic items (nursing pads, milk freezer bags, crib sheets, a boppy pillow, pacifiers) as well as books, toys and adorable little outfits and totes for storage.

It was fun to be a part of planning for this special time in a resident’s life and to help LaGrave on First transition from adults-only to family housing. Many thanks to all those who gave additional gifts to welcome this new child of God!

Youth Pride Celebration

United Lutheran Church is excited to host another Youth Pride Celebration on Tuesday, June 21, 6:30 - 8 p.m., as we celebrate with and give thanks for our LGBTQIA+ siblings! This event is created for high school youth and allies. We'll have pizza, treats, a guest speaker, tie dye, Beloved Art and Practice Project with Michelle Walka, yard games, and more! Meet us outside on United's courtyard, 324 Chestnut St, Grand Forks, ND.

The Youth Pride Celebration is a collaborative effort of Event by United Lutheran Church, Calvary Lutheran Church and Sharon Lutheran Church.

Hope your high schoolers can join the fun!

Love Feast

The Love Feast meal is a free meal for about 200+ people offered at Zion United Methodist Church in Grand Forks on the last Tuesday of each month. All are welcome and the meal is offered between 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.

Family of God will be serving the Love Feast for Grand Cities neighbors on June 28. we The drive-through meal will consist of sloppy joes, coleslaw, chips, cuties and cookies.  We’ll need a few people to cook and prep in the afternoon and LOTS to serve, including assembling the meals and delivering to cars in the parking lot.  Please sign the clipboard to let us know how you can help.  The Noisy Offering will help us purchase groceries for this meal.


Looney Lutherans to share their wisdom

The Looney Lutherans are a trio of wacky gals who use music, comedy and some help from the Valley Senior Living resident performers and the audience to share the age-old wisdom for living a long and lively life, the Lutheran way. Material is comedic and family friendly and you don’t have to be Lutheran to love it!

This ticketed event benefitting the Music Therapy program at Valley Senior Living is scheduled for Tuesday, June 28 at the HOPE Connections Center. This luncheon event will also include a hot dish buffet style meal with all the fixings that only the Church Basement Ladies can serve up!

Valley Senior Living offers music therapy to our residents and all care communities as a life enrichment. Music therapy enhances memory recall, offers positive changes in emotional well-being, provides stimulation and increases social interaction between residents, families and care partners. Music can awaken the mind and uplift the heart. This music therapy fundraising event will support our continued service of providing music therapy to residents.

For ticket visit give.classy.org/LooneyLutherans2022

Vehicle repairs help steer man in right direction

Tears of joy overwhelmed a LaGrave resident receiving a life changing donation. Family of God was called upon to assist him with vehicle repairs. After all, we are the little church that does big things – and we did! This hard-working man fought his way out of homelessness only to be knocked down with costly repairs. The gifts you have given to our Community Support fund has allowed him to continue his road to recovery.

LaGrave on First is a creative, effective, and cost saving solution to meet the needs of individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. They provide individuals safe, decent, affordable housing and to offer supportive services such as case management, medical services, substance abuse treatment, mental health counseling, and employment services all under one roof.  To find out more about this program and ways you can get involved visit thegfha.org/housing-first

Community Support Funds help LaGrave resident

Family of God supports the LaGrave Center with weekly meals. Recently had a chance to help a resident in a special way. This person had worked hard to get clean and sober, found a job, reinstated his driver’s license and purchased a vehicle only to have it quit in two days with transmission trouble. He had saved $2000 for the cost of repairs and licensing, but was short $800. Because of our Community Support Fund, we were able to meet this need within a few hours and show him that hard work really does pay off!

Your gifts to the Community Support Fund throughout the year are ready to respond quickly to needs when we’re called on. These donations are used solely to meet emergency needs as they come up. Thank you!

Flower Communion Sunday

We’re planning a joint service with the Unitarians for May 22 with their tradition of Flower Communion. This service represents what each person brings to our community and celebrates diversity. It’s also a chance for us to plant our favorite flowers in the new church landscaping (weather permitting) and to take home flowers to enjoy. Be thinking about what bedding plants or fresh flowers you would like to bring to that service.

RCS Dinner Theater "A Place to Hide"

The annual Riverside Middle School Dinner Theater is just around the corner, April 29 and 30. This year's production, A Place to Hide, will depict the incredible journey and faith walk of Dutch watchmaker and Holocaust survivor, Corrie Ten Boom.  Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the RCS office or at www.rcsrams.org

Thank you for your continuous prayers and support of Riverside Christian School. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the school at 218-773-1770. 

Around Our Table Brunch at FOG

Join us for the 7th Annual Around Our Table fundraiser supporting Valley Senior Living’s Chaplaincy Ministry Program. This is a virtual event, but Family of God will gather in our fellowship hall for brunch Saturday, April 23 at 10:00 a.m. Shaun Havis from Valley Senior Living will be with us. A computer will be available so you can view silent auction items. Feel free to invite friends and family. Please email us if you would like to attend at grandcitiesfog@gmail.com

Bid on items included in the Online Silent Auction from April 23 to May 1, 2022 at give.classy.org/aroundourtable2022

Share the message and the importance of spiritual support through Chaplaincy Ministry at Valley Senior Living for residents, tenants, family members and staff.

Pastoral care and the Chaplaincy Ministry Program at Valley Senior Living was born out of a strong tradition of spirituality.  The increased need for spiritual care has never been more evident than it has become throughout the pandemic, as our chaplains have counseled residents, tenants, family members and staff during this period of unprecedented uncertainty. 

By hosting a table and sharing the importance of this ministry, by joining your selected virtual table, or participating in the silent auction will help sustain our Chaplaincy Ministry and help those we serve with their faith and spiritual support.  Thank you for your financial support and for sharing the importance of this program for the nearly 550 residents, their families, and over 850 employees at Valley Senior Living care communities.

Eastern Europe Crisis Response

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine on Feb. 24, nearly 3 million people have fled the country and are seeking refuge in neighboring countries including Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Moldova. There are major humanitarian concerns for both internally displaced people and refugees. Many of these Ukrainians fleeing their homes need shelter and such basic necessities as food, water and toiletries. Care for people also includes pastoral and psychological support to address the trauma they’ve endured.

Lutheran Disaster Response is accompanying our companions in Ukraine, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, as well as such ecumenical partners as Lutheran World Federation and Church World Service, in their humanitarian responses to the crisis. These partners provide refugees with immediate support and supplies such as food, blankets, water and hygiene kits. Your gifts will support people impacted by this crisis. Gifts designated to "Eastern Europe Crisis" will be used in full (100%) for direct response to assist those affected.

other ways to give

  • BY MAIL
    Make checks payable to Lutheran Disaster Response. Write "Eastern Europe Crisis Response" on your check's memo line and send to:
    Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
    P.O. Box 1809
    Merrifield, VA 22116-8009

  • BY PHONE
    800-638-3522
    Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. central time

  • MORE WAYS TO GIVE
    Become a monthly donor, make a planned gift, and more. Learn more.

Food is a Universal Human Right

World Central Kitchen has served tens of millions of nourishing meals to people affected by disasters across the world—from hurricanes to wildfires to a global pandemic, our fight to feed the hungry has taken us more places than we ever could have imagined. ​At the same time, we continue planting roots in the communities where we work. In Puerto Rico and throughout the Caribbean, our Food Producer Network is helping to build resilient food systems in the face of future disasters — which we know will be increasing due to the dangers of climate change. In Haiti, aspiring chefs are obtaining the skills and confidence they need to elevate their careers in the hospitality industry. Our clean cooking initiatives convert school and home kitchens to clean gas-burning stoves from harmful charcoal and wood.​Your support will help us continue to use the power of food to heal communities and strengthen economies while serving as a beacon of hope for people in times of crisis. We look forward to continuing to work with you to nourish, uplift, and inspire.​

Join us in fulfilling the inspiring words of John Steinbeck:

“Wherever there’s a fight so hungry people can eat, we will be there.”​


We must be there.

World Central Kitchen is powered by our community of supporters including thousands of volunteers, around the world. Learn how to get involved wck.org.

Share Love for Ukrainian Neighbors

“Activities at the refugee point in Barabás, a small Hungarian village at the border of Ukraine. ACT Alliance member Hungarian Interchurch Aid offers food, drinks and hygiene items for the people fleeing the Ukraine war. Over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees have already crossed the border to Hungary during one week.”  - Antti Yrjönen / Finn Church Aid

 "Love your neighbor as yourself."

- Jesus of Nazareth

Our Ukrainian neighbors need us now. Millions have been displaced, seeking shelter and basic necessities. Please take a moment now to help our partners in the region meet these needs with a gift to the UCC Ukraine Relief Fund.

The Russian military attack on Ukraine two weeks ago created a massive humanitarian crisis. More than 2.3 million people have fled Ukraine, with hundreds of thousands more displaced from their homes but unable to leave the country. The need for basic necessities is staggering.

You can stand with those in need. Ministering with our global partners, your love of neighbor will be made tangible through a gift that will:

  • Provide welcome, shelter, and respite for refugees seeking safety

  • Support Hungarian Interchurch Aid, which has provided resources to 9,000 people while shipping convoys of aid into western Ukraine - delivering more food, water, and sanitation items daily

  • Join humanitarian relief partners in Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Ukraine through the ACT Alliance

  • Attend to the most vulnerable - children, the elderly, and refugees from other countries who are now twice displaced.

United in prayer, action, and giving, we stand as a people of faith in love and compassion with all affected and with our global partners who are welcoming those driven from their homes. 

Please make a gift now. For more information, please visit Ukraine updates. 

Love remains. Love responds. Love brings you home.

One Great Hour of Sharing is one of four special mission offerings of the United Church of Christ. This Lenten Offering supports the disaster, refugee, and development ministries of the United Church of Christ within Wider Church Ministries.

When you give to One Great hour of Sharing, you deploy resources to people in need all over the world, and in our own communities. when man-made or natural disasters strike, love responds. Not just for the immediate future, but for the long haul. When you give to one Great Hour of Sharing, you are working alongside families to restore not only structures, but hope. Your giving ensures that no matter how difficult the situation. Love remains.

Gifts can be made online at https://support.ucc.org/donate-now, select the amount you would like to donate and locate One Great Hour of Sharing in the drop-down menu.

And now these three remain;
faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.

— 1 Corinthians 13:13

Book Study for Lent

Looking for a positive approach to Lent? Want to sharpen your skills in appreciating yourself and others? Join us for a discussion of The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. Sundays beginning March 6, 11:15-12:00. We'll meet for six weeks, weather permitting.

Participants are welcome to attend one of the three services in our building at 10:00 or come for the study only. Books will be available for purchase at the meeting, but aren't required.