Child care is a priority for a small rural congregation in America's heartland. Grace Lutheran Church, a congregation with a hundred-year history in the area of Marshfield, Wisconsin, has taken a merger, a building addition, and a parsonage and turned them into safe havens for some children in rural America.

In 1949, two small congregations merged and rebuilt in the heart of Wisconsin farmland. In 1996, the congregation dedicated a new addition-gathering space, offices, and a basement addition. The idea of child care ministry surfaced early in the discussion of the addition as staff and members wondered what good use could be made of the new space.

In February 1997, the tragic death of a young mother of two gave impetus to the idea of a child care center at Grace. The designation of memorial funds for the children of Grace Lutheran suddenly made possible what had once been a dream. After more than a year of meetings to study and plan and write policy, Grace's after school program opened in September 1998. It was held in the basement of the church, where 20 school-age children could be ministered to each day after school.

During the fall of 1998, it became apparent that while there was some need for after-school care, an even greater need was for pre-school care. So in keeping with the building project theme of "Building Grace on Faith," the board took a leap of faith and expanded the ministry to an all-day child care program, which began in late December. During that first school year numbers were very small, but the board held firm to the commitment that need was there in this rural community where almost all parents work in or out of the home and many children are left alone.

During 1999, an unexpected set of circumstances allowed for expansion of Grace’s child care ministry. Difficulty with renters led committee, council, and congregation members to discuss using the former parsonage as a safe place for children to come and be nurtured. The board was committed to Grace Lutheran Child Care Center being an outreach of the whole congregation to its rural community.

As plans to renovate the former parsonage were made, it was evident that more funds were needed to augment the memorial fund. Members and businesses in the area were contacted and many stepped forward in an affirmation of the need for a safe place for our community's children, and they gave generously to the renovation project. In September of 1999, the Grace Lutheran Child Care Center opened to infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers in the now bright and cheerful former parsonage.

On October 3, 1999, Grace Lutheran's Child Care House was dedicated to God's glory. An open house was held after worship and if the Board had doubts, those doubts evaporated as nearly the whole congregation paraded through the center and rejoiced at the bright, safe, nurturing place for child care.

By late spring of 2000, the child care center had a waiting list. Nearly 20 children may be found in the Child Care House at any time. Another 10-15 elementary-age children participate in the after school program still housed in the church basement and most spend all day there during the summer vacation.

Grace’s vision continues to expand as staff and board members explore ways to find funding to make space possible for more drop-in children, with a special eye to the farms left in the community and to an awareness of the dangers children can face in busy times on the farm or when left alone.

Grace Lutheran Church is committed to providing a safe haven for children in its part of rural America.

For more information, contact Janice Lee, Administrator, Grace Lutheran Child Care Center, 11284 Hwy 10 West, Marshfield, WI 54449. The center's telephone number is (715)676-2213. You may e-mail Janice at norb@commplusis.net.