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Make sure to mark your calendars for the showing ofPaul Blart: Mall Cop 2 on April 18 at White Bear Township Theaters. Comedian Kevin James, who stars in the movie, will be wearing a "Zac Pac" t-shirt in the film. The theater has reserved as many theaters as we need to fill them with Zac supporters and supporters of cancer research. The t-shirt online store is now open please go to identitystores.com/Stores/ StoreFront.aspx to pre purchase your t-shirts. They may be picked up at the event.

If you are unable to attend and would still like to contribute please consider giving to the Zachary NF research fund at www.zacharynfresearchfund.com/mallcop2event/. Thank you and we really hope to see you there!

This Saturday, Chisago City will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt.  Held at Paradise Park the egg hunt begins at 2 p.m.  You are encouraged to bring your easter bonnets and baseball hats decorated for Easter.  Prizes will be given away for the best decorated hat.  The hunt will take place no matter what Mother Nature has in store, so please dress appropriately.  Along with the hunt, there will be face painting, games and of course a giant Easter Bunny available for photo opportunities.  They do ask you to bring a donation for the food shelf if possible.  I know that many events ask us for food donations, but let’s make a huge effort to really fill the shelves this time.  Thank you in advance.

Speaking of donations, I recently took three car loads of donations to the homeless shelters and one to the Ronald McDonald House in Minneapolis.  I can’t begin to thank you enough for all of your donations.  When you see the faces of the volunteers when I drop the donations off, they are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude.  So from the bottom of my heart I thank you.  Thank you for making a difference.

On April 6, at Elim Lutheran Church in Scandia, there is going to be a speaker. So what, there are speakers at every church all the time.  Agreed, but this one is different.  Mark Meier will be speaking about depression and suicide.  Mark has degrees in social work and psychology and is part of the faculty at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine.  

Mark speaks of his personal journey with depression and suicidical thoughts.  I have attended his seminar a couple of years ago and believe me folks, this is an incredible message.  Mark is so down to earth, so relevant, so caring, and so relateable.  

Depression is the leading cause of over 41,000 suicides in the United States and as you know, our area has been shocked by many over the last few years.  We need to learn the symptoms, signs, and ways to help those of us who show signs of depression.

This seminar is free and for EVERYONE.  Please do not let the fact that it is in a church make it seem limited to the congregation.  Mark is such a great speaker and if you have or know of someone who has battled depression, or if you have children, this is a great seminar.  I can’t say enough good things about Mark and the work he does. I enjoyed his seminar so much I created a tile ad on our website that I encourage you to look at.  The event is April 6 at 7 p.m..  If you have any questions please call Joyce at 651-433-3862.

If you are looking for a bit of light fun for the family, why not take in the St. Bridgets Fish Fry and then head over to Center City. The Firemen of Center City are holding their annual Ham Bingo. Remember turkey bingo in the fall? Well this is your chance to win an Easter ham just in time for the in-laws to come over. The bingo begins at 7 p.m. and cards are only 50 cents each.

On Saturday before you take the kids to Chisago City for the bigg egg hunt, stop by the First United Methodist Church in Lindstrom. They are holding an Easter Carnival, complete with games, minnow races, face painting, cake walk and lots of prizes. The carnival runs from 10 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Everyone is invited!

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