Mission in Africa

Another opportunity to support Minnekirken –donate shares of stock!

I received an email from a potential donor to the “For the Next Century, For det Neste Århundre” capital campaign. They may be interested in donating shares of stock to the church. With the US stock market at all-time highs, this is a great opportunity for some donors. I am in the process of opening a brokerage account to accept stock donations, and please check with your financial advisor as to the tax advantages of donating stocks with potential capital gains taxes versus making a cash donation. As always, if you have any questions or have an interest in donating stock to Minnekirken, please email me at treas.nlmc@gmail.com.

—Matt Nygaard

Update on the Façade/Tower Restoration Project

You may recall the background on the church restoration project. In the spring of 2019, a local restoration architect, Barnaby Wauters, pulled Beverly Covyeau aside to share some concerning news. Barnaby noticed that rainwater was seeping out from behind the brick above the Minnekirken 1908 cornerstone. At that point, the church council hired structural engineer, Ed Swierz, to assist Barnaby in assessing the condition of the church’s façade, and with their recommendation, a firm was hired to stabilize the structure in June 2019. We received an initial estimate of $527,000 for restore the façade and tower of Minnekirken, and we applied for an “Adopt a Landmark” grant with the City of Chicago to help pay for this work. In the fall of 2019, Minnekirken received a $250,000 grant for the façade/tower restoration project, and at the Minnekirken Annual Meeting, our capital fundraising campaign “For the Next Century, For det Neste Århundre” began.

Since last fall, Barnaby Wauters and Ed Swierz were hired to create the scope of work and drawings for the façade/tower restoration project. Once their drawings and documents are ready, the City of Chicago Department of Planning will review the project plans, and the work will go out to bid with several restoration firms. Our goal is to select a contractor and to begin the restoration work by the spring of 2021.

Beginning the restoration project early next year has two benefits for us: 1) many masonry contractors are very busy in the fall, and we may receive a better price for the work in the spring; and 2) the extra time will allow us to pursue other grant opportunities to help pay for this significant and mandatory expense. To aid the fundraising, I have personally researched and sent inquiries to over 35 foundations to begin an extensive grant application process.

If you have any questions about the façade/tower restoration project, or to make a donation to support the project, please email me at treas.nlmc@gmail.com. It will be an exciting 2021 at Minnekirken.

My Norwegian curiosity and wanderlust have been the inspiration to embark on fantastic travel experiences.

In October 2019, I had the opportunity to join a serving team from Willow Creek Community Church to Port Shepstone,

South Africa. Their global ministry offers short term trips for teams to support and encourage the work of their partners in local churches in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The mission is to “Serve, Learn, and

Grow -- to be God's hands and feet to people around the world, as you get to know their culture, their names, their strengths, their needs, and how our partners are making a difference.” Imagine my surprise and delight when I learned that the partner church in South Africa was Norwegian Settlers Church!

In his book Norske pionerer i sju verdensdeler (Norwegian Pioneers), Torbjørn Greipsland includes a section about this vibrant congregation. The church was established in 1882 when a group of 229 Norwegians arrived in the area.

The group responded to a colonization scheme where each settler was offered free transport and given a 100-acre plot of land. There was also a parcel of land reserved for the church. The church was dedicated on August 29th , 1883, on the first-year anniversary of their arrival.

The church has a museum with things the Norwegians brought with them from home, including, bunads, tools, kitchen utensils, etc. The Norwegians also put their mark on place names in the area with names like Skogheim, Oslo Beach, and Fredheim. The Norwegian descendants will proudly make kransekake or wear their bunads on special occasions. Norwegian Settlers Church is not just about buildings and a growing church membership. It is a story of caring for a community and seeking to bring about real and lasting transformation in the lives of the people all around them. The Genesis Trust was established in 2002 as an outreach ministry of the Norwegian Settlers Church, partnering with local and international partners, including Willow Creek Global Missions. Their vision is to take the church outside its walls by serving their communities holistically, meeting physical, social, and spiritual needs associated with HIV/AIDS, poverty and other social issues. The ministries of Genesis Trust fall into the following categories: Children, Education, Gyms, Health, Skills, and Youth.

On our trip, our team had opportunity to serve with the following projects:

Khula Creche – a rural community about 45 kms inland from Port Shepstone. The community center runs a preschool for 120 children between 2-4 years old. They prepare approximately 300 meals daily for the children in the preschool and students who participant in various after school activities (on average 5,430 meals per month). Khula Community Center also offers skills training and a music program. There is a Mobile Clinic that attends to medical needs of the community. El Roi Baby Home – provides care for up to 12 infants and toddlers between the ages of 0-4. All children are admitted via a social worker. The children receive care until arrangements are made for adoption or foster homes. (El Roi meaning "The God who sees"). Murchison – community center located 20 km from NSC. It houses Genesis' first after school project and a community gym. The small, modest building and its grounds stand as a beacon of hope in a community that boasts one of the highest, per capita, HIV/AIDS rate in the world. An estimated 60% of the people living in this community are infect10