ADVOCATES: Help families, students

months Thao has helped students with the last names starting with Par-Z as well as Hmong families. Before coming to Centennial, he worked at a Hmong charter school in St. Paul. He has a degree in social work. He was interested in the position because he enjoys helping people.

“As a social worker you have this natural calling of wanting to help individuals,” he explained. “Being a first-generation student and understanding how difficult this process can be for folks … I wanted to help people in a similar situation.”

Iman has worked in the district for two years. She helps students with the last names starting with Has-Pa as well as Somali families. Before landing her current role, she volunteered helping families who live in the Landings of Lexington apartment complex. Iman was born in Somalia and grew up in Texas. She has a paralegal bachelor’s degree but decided she wanted to help families in a different capacity.

“This is exactly where I need to be,” she said, “helping the community fill in the gaps so there is no gaps and make sure our district is well covered for everybody.”

The three advocates work to connect families and their students with resources both within the schools and the community. They help families navigate through the enrollment process, fill out forms, sign up for after-school activities and clubs, arrange transportation, apply for scholarships and get basic needs accounted for such as shelter, food, clothing, etc.

As the district goes paperless, a big part of the job is helping fam-

It’s one last hurrah for LifePoint Church in Maplewood, which will celebrate its 150th anniversary this April. After that, the church will close its doors as it prepares to become the 12th campus of Eagle Brook Church.

Back in 1873, the church began as First Swedish Baptist, and changed names several times over the course of its history. Over the years, the church has had a strong connection to Bethel University and its seminary school. In its heyday the church served a congregation of more than 1,000 people.

In recent years, the church has opened its doors as a worship space to several different intercultural congregations as part of its mission of community. Under Pastor Dan Munson, who was at first hired on as an interim pastor, the church made connections with the Karen community—a minority ethnic group from Myanmar. Minnesota is one of the biggest diaspora communities of Karen living in the U.S. after many refugees fled from the political persecution in their homelands over the last few decades.

“A lot of these kids remember seeing people killed, seeing people beat up,” Munson said. In 2008 the church began making an intentional effort to reach out to refugee families, and began teaching children from Karen families in Sunday school and through the children’s ministry.

Munson was one of the founders of a nonprofit, Anchored Ministries, designed to help support refugees who came to the community with very few resources. Munson was able to secure bus transportation for youth, as well as other youth programming to help fill the gaps and help kids from refugee families be successful in school.

LifePoint soon became the scene of Karen-language church services, which eventually drew a congregation of more than 500. In addition to Karen, LifePoint has been host to services for Nepalese, Thai, Hmong and Spanish-speaking communities.

However, LifePoint, like many churches, was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our church is experiencing what a lot of churches are experiencing, in that we’ve seen the numbers of the church and attendance dwindle for quite some time,” said LifePoint Board Chair Ross Rud. “Eagle Brook is in the same denomination as us, so God is really at work there. We reached out to them and said, ‘Here’s a ilies navigate the new technology.

“Our job doesn’t end in school,” Iman explained. The job keeps them busy before the school day begins and after school lets out. All three of the advocates live in the community and often run into families and students outside of school walls.

Berrios Cordero recalled a time when she was shopping at a grocery store and she ran into a student who needed help with their math homework. So, she hopped in her van in the parking lot and helped the student.

“We want to help these kids to have a better quality of life,” Thao said. “We want to make sure these families feel confident, feel like they are a part of the community and a part of the district.”

Lexington swears in, honors firefighters

concern we have with our church, do you think you might be interested in bringing Eagle Brook here?’ After conversation, the answer was yes.”

The church community has expressed mixed feelings about the change. While many are hopeful for the future, it is not necessarily an easy or comfortable transition for everyone.

“Eagle Brook does wonderful work; they preach the gospel and reach great numbers of people, but there’s still sadness as we lose our relationships within the church and all the ministry we were doing,” said a longtime member of the congregation who wished to remain anonymous. “I’m 85, I don’t know what I’m going to do or where I’m going to go. Some are enthusiastic, others are heartbroken,” the anonymous source added.

Munson said that all of the partner communities have found new homes for the time being, but many are hopeful that Eagle Brook may be able to continue to offer support in some of the same ways and keep the same relationships thriving.

“When they get the place remodeled, there’s a good chance they may have a strong outreach to these same communities that we’re reaching out to,” Munson said. Several other organizations, including the Karen church community, offered to buy the property. “But we wanted it to be a place that’s full and that the resources of the building are used to the max for the gospel,” Munson said. “This particular group will do this. We got adopted, is what we’re saying, by a church that will continue the vision.”

After LifePoint passes into the hands of Eagle Brook leaders, the church will close for renovation and reopen to the community sometime later this year, hopefully by Christmastime.

“There’s a large degree of excitement about what the future holds,” Rud said.

The 150th anniversary celebration will be held at the 10 a.m. Sunday, April 16, service at LifePoint Church, 2220 Edgerton St. Several pastors from the church’s past have been invited to speak and share their memories, and Munson promised lots of music. Anyone who has ever sung in the choir will be invited to come up and sing. They can find the sheet music by reaching out to LifePoint beforehand, or join in on the day of the celebration. Learn more at https://www.lifepointmn.org.

Jackie Bussjaeger

Waters Edge Craft Sale

Saturday, April 22rd

10am – 3pm

Waters Edge Clubhouse 15290

Farmham Ave N. Hugo

CCW Spring Jewelry & Craft Sale

The St. Odilia Council of Catholic Women is holding a Jewelry & Craft Sale. Huge selections of costume jewelry, fabrics, and glassware items will be priced to sell & must go! Quilts, blankets, baby items & more - handmade by CCW crafters.

Sale dates

Saturday April 29 - noon to 6:30 p.m.

Sunday April 30 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

St. Odilia Church, 3495 N. Victoria, Shoreview, MN. 55126

PRESS PUBLICATIONS IS SEEKING A

Staff Writer

Press Publications in White Bear Lake is seeking a staff writer to join its award-winning team. As a staff writer-reporter you will be responsible for coordinating editorial content and layout for our newspapers, website and social media pages. In addition to writing stories, the job will require attending meetings, taking photographs, assisting with the layout process, coordinating, writing occasional editorial columns and maintaining a positive relationship with the community at large. We are looking for a candidate who is an efficient writer, passionate about local community news and great at time managment. Candidates should have a degree in journalism (or a related field) and have relevant experience. To apply, please send resume, cover letter and three writing samples to quadnews@presspubs.com.

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PT Admin Position in WBL Circulation Dept. 15-20 hrs/week. Call Lisa 651-407-1205 www.presspubs.com

NOW HIRING!

Deputy Clerk/Office Administrator

White Bear Township, located in the Northeast Metro, is accepting applications for the position of a full time Deputy Clerk/Office Administrator. Applicant will execute a wide spectrum of administrative and office support responsibilities.

Duties include, but are not limited to, ensuring that Township policies, procedures, ordinances, legal requirements, and agreements are completed, followed up on, and/or updated as needed. Manages daily, weekly and monthly organizational and procedural duties as required and/ or requested by the Town Board and its Boards and Commissions. Performs in-house legal tasks in conjunction with the Township Attorney’s oversight. Performs a variety

Snuggle Me Organic in V.H. Hiring FT & PT Warehouse; also Assembly Team Members, M-F Flexible Hrs. Send Resume to: becky@ snugglemeorganic.com

Part-time Public Works Employee

The City of Lexington is accepting applications for a part-time public works employee to assist the public works department in regular maintenance and repair work associated with the city’s parks, buildings, streets, and utilities. The position is 20-30 hours per week – flexible hours. A high school diploma and a valid driver's license with a clean driving record is essential.

Applications available

Monday – Friday, 8 am – 4:30 pm, at Lexington City Hall, 9180 Lexington Ave, Lexington, MN 55014 or online at http://www.ci.lexington.mn.us/.

Salary Range: $17.05-$18.76/hour. For more information call 763-784-2792. Position is open until filled.

Weekly Outlook

Weather Tidbits

Frank Watson of administrative and support duties to ensure legal compliance and effective operation of the Township’s office functions.

Brought to you by WeathermanWatson.com Timing is everything. It hadn’t been the best weather heading into the Easter weekend with snow, sleet, rain, wind and thunder, but we saved the best weather since mid November for this past weekend. Temperatures soared into the 60’s and winds died down a bit and Easter weekend was a winner. The warmer temperatures even persisted into the workweek. With big temperature fluctuations, it looks like colder temperatures for this weekend. Lake ice watch is on. Any predictions of when area lakes will clear?

Education and/or experience requirements are as follows: Bachelor’s Degree and/or a minimum of five years of experience in a Public Administration support role; or equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job such as those listed above. Hiring range will be $65,542-$69,846. The Township provides health and retirement benefits.

Please apply through our applicant portal at the Township’s website: http://www.whitebeartownship.org/jobs.aspx

Priority consideration will be given to applicants who complete their application by noon on April 24th.

THE BEST PLACE YOU’LL EVER WORK!

Now hiring:

• Recreation Staff

• Park Maintenance Staff

• Building Supervisor

Learn more and apply at CityofRoseville.com/jobs

Seasonal Maintenance Workers Positions

White Bear Township is accepting applications for Seasonal Maintenance

Worker positions to assist in routine maintenance work including, but not limited to, the following: general maintenance of parks, streets, water, storm water, sanitary sewer, etc. Up to 40 hours per week, Monday-Friday, 7 am to 3:30 pm (subject to change between Memorial Day – Labor Day).

Salary starting at $20.00/hour. A valid driver’s license with a good driving record is essential. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and be able to pass pre-employment drug screening.

Applications are available Monday – Friday, 7 am – 4:30 pm, at Township Administrative Office, 1281 Hammond Road, White Bear Township, MN 55110 or online at “http:// www.whitebeartownship.org”

Application deadline: Open until positions filled.