"We've received many questions regarding Camp finances. Let me be very honest and real and say they are not good. It's improved significantly from our forecast in April, but still not good. Our ministry/business model is not built on donations, but rather on registration income that comes from camper fees/retreat fees. We do supplement registration income with donations, but this is only 15% of our total income. The majority of our registration income comes during the summer. As of today, we are forecasting our annual registration income to be down 75%. We have implemented a number of cost saving measures and looked for outside income, but we will not be able to cover this loss of registration income with these alone." - Dave Cairns, Executive Director

As of today Crosstown has given $6,500 to assist Covenant Pines Ministry. We also make a significant number of our purchases on Amazon and utilize Amazon Smile to support Covenant Pines. Covenant Pines has launched a Big Picture campaign to help raise $250,000 in order to help start 2021 on a level financial footing. Donate HERE.

Celebration of Jimmy Lindahl's Life- Aug 22

There will be a service for Jimmy Lindahl on Saturday, August 22nd. This service will be for family only, but the congregation is welcome to attend by live stream at 11:00 on the Crosstown YouTube channel.

All Church Retreat- Sept 18-20

The planning for retreat it moving forward. The theme will be "Give Me Jesus."

There will be outdoor activities, an in-person speaker, live streaming options, lunches, socially distanced games, s'mores, a vespers service... It's going to be a full weekend and we are hoping that you will pick at least one activity to join (in person or virtually). We may even have a visit from Covenant Pines too.

We are working on the details, registration, food, cost, and so forth. This is a large logistical undertaking. The website with all the details will be released August 26th!!!

Lets create a "Give Me Jesus" playlist for the weekend. What song would you add to the mix? Share it with the office.

It's great to see over 85 people download the Crosstown App!

Each week we're going to highlight a feature on the App. This week the special feature is the BIBLE. Did you know that the Covenant Church has a Bible App called the YouVersion Bible? It has over 400 million users! And last year the country with the most growth in users was Poland. Read more about it in this Covenant Companion article.

And this same YouVersion Bible is available on our Crosstown App! You can read it, listen to it, and use it in tons of different languages.

PS... did you see that the new Crosstown website launched?

The Kathrine R. Lillehei Scholarship Fund is now soliciting applications from qualified applicants. The purpose of the scholarship is to encourage faith-filled members to pursue careers in the field of medicine. This includes doctors, nurses, physician’s assistants, nursing assistants, psychiatrists and other caregivers. This scholarship is for education of current practitioners as well as those still considering a career in medicine.

The application deadline is August 31st, 2020 with the scholarship{s} being awarded in September 2020. Applications and guidelines are linked here and are available on the Spiritual Life Pathways wall. Contact Mike Anderson for more information at mike-anderson@outlook.com.

The Elder team has created a Sanctuary Renovation Task Force to put together a proposal for updates to this space. Some updates could include replacing pews with flexible seating, new paint colors, new flooring, and an ADA-compliant ramp to the platform. Dennis Olson is serving as chair for this task force and questions can be addressed to him at lennisimo2k@gmail.com. More information to come.

"Our client visits have skyrocketed, and we are giving out more food each week than we ever have before."

There is a weekly prayer email sent to those who have requested to receive these emails. If you want to be on the prayer chain list email the office.

Have a prayer request? Email the office.

The GriefShare team (Iris Smyth, Judy & John Madsen, Tom & Nancy Pikal and Sue Bjurlin) thank you for your prayer support. They have discerned that the fall GriefShare session will not occur at Crosstown. However there are a number of groups in the Twin Cities that are meeting virtually and in person. Please use the griefshare.org website to locate these groups.

The Crosstown team will continue to offer phone call support to anyone in need. Please contact Iris for arrangements: ilbsmyth@yahoo.com. The team will continue to meet and pray for people as they consider the winter 2020 session.  Please pray for wisdom as we seek God's will, keeping both safety and the needs of people grieving the loss of loved ones in mind during this season of pandemic.

"As most of you know, the Northwest Conference 2020 Annual Meeting that was to be held last April at Minnehaha Academy had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, we missed out on a wonderful time of fellowship, encouragement and inspiration. We were also unable to attend to some of the normal business that is always part of each April gathering...

We have now chosen to make the information that would have been distributed in person via hard-copy available in electronic form on the NWC website...

We offer this in thankfulness for the ways that God blessed our shared work in the past, confident that He will continue to use all of us for His glory and neighbor’s good, even in the midst of our current challenges and opportunities." - Mark Stromberg, Superintendent

Birthdays!

Georgia Matzdorff 8/24, Joe Iffert 8/24, John Madsen 8/25, Sheryl Saul 8/31

Email the office if you would like your birthday included.

Passion for Christ Compassion for People