FOR ANTIGO TIMES

Calvary Lutheran Church donated a sizable stack of Culver’s gift cards, each for the exact amount of a kid’s meal, to the Antigo Community Food Pantry, to be a birthday blessing for children whose families depend on the food pantry.

Pastor Karen E. Tews came up with the idea, sparked by an email from Culver’s, about a new promotional activity with the potential of winning a $500.00 Culver’s gift card as the grand prize. She imagined ho she would use such a gift card, and shared her thoughts in a sermon on Thursday, January 17^th and Sunday, January 20^th. She said maybe she would buy gift cards for Culver’s kid’s meals and give them to the food pantry to be birthday gifts for children whose families come to the food pantry. She also said maybe she would treat teachers to lunch during teacher appreciation week or she had a couple other ideas as well.

Pastor Tews shared that God gives people the opportunity to use what we have to be blessings for others, a message sparked by the Bible story where Jesus turned water into wine, in John 2:1-11. Pastor Tews shared various ways we are inspired and empowered by God to do this: through giving to the food pantry, giving to disaster relief programs and supporting other ministries.

At the end of the Thursday evening church service, a member of Calvary handed Pastor Tews a check for $500, telling her to use it however she wanted, but she liked the food pantry idea best. The kids whose families rely on the Antigo Community Food Pantry will be blessed by the generous gift of an anonymous Calvary member. Calvary Lutheran Church is excited to be able to bless children of our community with a special birthday blessing thanks to the kindness and generosity of a Calvary Lutheran Church member.