The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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December 20, 2008

Church gives parents brief holiday respite

Christmas for Kids 'a blessing to the community'

By Brian Ojanpa

NORTH MANKATO — A North Mankato church provided young parents with three hours of “freedom” Saturday, though the weather turned that concept into a slippery slope for some.

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church hosted its annual Christmas for Kids event in the morning, whereby parents drop off their kids for supervised fun and games, then go do whatever they want.

That plan figured to work perfectly for Jamie and Paul Schaefer.

“My husband likes to go out in the snow, so we’ll probably go hike trails at Minneopa Park,” Jamie Schaefer said as she turned her two grade-schoolers over to church staffers.

Nearby, Jackie Rademaker wasn’t as lucky. She had planned to drop off 3-year-old Cody, then do some Christmas shopping for three hours.

But when Cody balked at having mom leave, she kissed that respite goodbye.

“Oh, well,” she sighed as she hovered over her son as he gave some crayons a workout.

St. Paul’s pastor Roger Knepprath said the church has hosted the program for about eight years, with 80 or so children participating annually.

Though the weather curtailed numbers on Saturday, dozens of kids moved from one activity station to the next. Their favorite: The Christmas cookie decorating table.

The church event is open to parishioners and nonparishioners, Knepprath said. Other local churches host similar events during the holiday season, in part to engage potential new members.

“It’s meant to be an outreach opportunity. Our purpose is to be a blessing to the community,” Knepprath said.

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