Fat Tuesday is Over But the Fun is Just Beginning

Fat Tuesday is over, but the party is just beginning for 8 Youth and their Chaperones.

If you joined us for our Mardi Gras party, you know what a great time we had.

If you missed it, you missed a REALLY terrific party.  Really...

91 people joined us at St. Andrew on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012 to help raise funds to send 8 of our “Youts” and their 2 chaperones (Pastor Fred and the Youth Advisor) to the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans this summer.  The kids raised a total of $3555 with your support.  THANK YOU!

Those 91 people (plus there were many who made donations but did not attend) enjoyed an evening of terrific New Orleans-style food (jambalaya, red beans & rice, gumbo, and of course, King Cake).  We had karaoke with some very good voices (and some not so good but good-spirited), masquerade mask crafting, Guitar Hero and Dance-Dance Revolution games, and a very fun Crazy Hat contest.

But the big fundraiser of the evening was the Silent Auction.  56 items were up for bid, and there was indeed some very competitive bidding going on for a few of the items.   Thank you to some of our local businesses for their support and the items donated for this event:  (So please patronize their business and say “thanks” for supporting St. Andrew’s Youth Group).

Moe’s Southwest Grill in Parsippany

Lia Sophia Jewelry (Terri Corigliano)

ShopRite of Parsippany

Billy & Madeline Haircutters of Whippany

Jersey Mikes Sandwiches of Parsippany

Pro Haricutters of Parsippany

Olive Garden of Rockaway

Gourmet Café of Parsippany

Sweet Expressions of Denville

Delizia Pizza Kitchen of Boonton

Denville Dairy

Joy Nails of Parsippany

Boonton Lanes

Clearview Theaters of Parsippany

Anthony FrancoItalian Restaurant (Parsippany)

Karma Salon &Spa (Lake Hiawatha)

Mary Kay (LindaPerna)

Flowers by Rene of Parsippany

Trainer’s Edge (Denville)

Dangerfield’s Comedy Club

Hot Rods Restaurant (Wharton)

Sogo Sushi House Restaurant (Denville)

Look out New Orleans!…. 36,000 Lutheran Youth are coming to your town in July and things will never be the same… for them … or for you!

Come and see what all the excitement is about:
Worship: Sundays at 8:30 and 10:45 am
St. Andrew Lutheran Church
335 Reynolds Ave., Parsippany, NJ  07054
(973) 887-6713
www.elcaAndy.org

What they learned in New Orleans

Happy Fat Tuesday!

This got me reflecting on the experience my daughter had with the 2009 ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans. Several youth from St. Andrew, Pastor Fred and our Youth Advisor, Karin, a.k.a. KTB (Karin the Beautiful), traveled to New Orleans in July 2009 to join 35,000 other youth and their chaperones for five days of worship, service and fellowship. It was an experience that they will never forget.

I called her at school and asked her to tell me what she remembers as her most cherished memories and what she learned. She told me:

The worship experience (in the Superdome, a place of prior misery and suffering) was phenomenal. All the music, every speaker, touched their lives and connected them to each other and the city of New Orleans and why they were there.

The welcome was humbling. The people of New Orleans greeted them with “thank you’s” and “God bless you’s” everywhere they went.

The service was uplifting and empowering. When 35,000 youth tackle over 158 service projects an amazing amount of work can get done. Our group of kids painted colorful murals to brighten the gray block hallways of the schools to which they were assigned.

My daughter told me today that the most important thing she learned was that no matter how small a thing you do, you can make a difference in people’s lives.

Now there’s something to consider as we head in to the season of Lent. If we each woke up everyday with the intent to do one small thing to make a diffence in someone else’s life, imagine what a change you could effect by the Day of Resurrection, Easter Sunday.

Amen! St. Andrew's Youth are going back to New Orleans in 2012. They’re going to have a great time that they’ll remember forever. They’ll make a difference in people’s lives.

What are you going to do?

Don’t forget to get your ashes tomorrow. Noon and 7:30 pm at St. Andrew.