Students and their wives often refer to our Food and Clothing Co-ops as "Our One-Stop Shopping Place." Located in Spiegel Hall, the Clothing Co-op is one of the first stops that a new student family makes when they arrive. A new home often brings different sized windows, a need for more lamps, or a bare spot on the wall that needs just the right picture. If we don't have a needed item, we keep a "wish list" and then drop them a note if it arrives. Everything in the Clothing Co-op is the same price-free! While they're here, they can turn in their paperwork for the Food Co-op, and get answers to any questions they have.

The Food Co-op is a very popular spot on campus. Hidden in the basement of the Student Commons building, it's a place that students quickly find. It looks like a small grocery store, except that the prices are in points, not dollars. Each family is allotted a number of points, based on family size, which they can spend each month. We offer many non-perishable items (cereal, canned goods, snack foods, etc.) and also many perishable items (milk, cheese, butter, frozen foods and meats). We also have non-food items (paper products, health and beauty aids, and diapers).

These Co-ops are truly a circle of giving. As the students prepare to serve God's people, the Church has already begun to serve them, care for them and support them. Every gift given is either donated or purchased with funds that are donated by congregations, groups and individuals within our Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Served in this way by the Church, these men and their families eagerly await the time when they will be the new pastors within the Church.

As the director of the Food and Clothing Co-ops at CTS it is a great privilege to discuss my favorite subject-the One-Stop Shopping Place! It is truly a wonderful opportunity to be a part of the circle of giving. In this not only do I see the love and prayers that accompany the gifts given, but I see the grateful and trusting hearts of those who receive them!

Soli Deo Gloria!

From Volume 4, Issue 2, April 2000