New Jersey church marks its 75th year by partnering with rural congregation

Partners share construction effort, pulpits, musical events
"Happy birthday" is a duet for Temple Lutheran Church of Pennsauken, New Jersey and Shepherd of the Valley of Wellsville, New York.

The two congregations were linked when Temple searched for a new Mission Partners ministry that would officially organize during 1999, 75 years after Temple was organized.

Matched in early 1999, the partners quickly found ways to contribute to one another's ministry.

For starters, Temple assisted with Shepherd's sanctuary construction project. In one weekend, 16 members laid over 1,500 tiles in Shepherd's fellowship area, and later gave $3,000 to help pay for exterior brick. In September, when they returned for Shepherd's dedication, Temple members brought along and planted two trees.

Temple's help was critical to Shepherd, whose members constructed their 4,800-square foot building themselves for only $140,000, replacing rented space in a hardware store.

Meanwhile, Shepherd of the Valley members visited Pennsauken to participate in Temple's church picnic and lend a hand in Temple's outreach ministry in nearby Camden. On Sunday, Shepherd's string quartet performed, and its pastor, Paula Roulette, preached.

This spring, Shepherd's evangelism team will coach Temple in the art of knocking on doors.

Both look forward to a future filled with pulpit and musical exchanges, personal visits, and special events.

"Our congregations have clicked," said Temple Pastor James Heckman. Both congregations agree that the relationship has been a blessing.

"Having an older sister looking after us has been a tremendous boost," says Pastor Roulette.

"And," says Pastor Heckman," after looking back during our 75th anniversary year, this relationship helped get us focused on the future."

Partners Available
A new ELCA ministry is looking for an overhead projector and screen as well as banners of any kind to decorate its building.

Several organized congregations now need their own facilities but are located in areas in which land is extremely costly. While members financially support their congregations significantly, they are not able to prove their ability to pay off such a huge loan. Donations from individuals or congregations to Mission Partners to help these congregations purchase land would be greatly appreciated.

A new ministry in an economically challenged community in the Northeast needs items for its worship space: 100 metal folding chairs, a ceramic chalice and paten, 50 pew Bibles, and 50 "This Far by Faith" hymnals.
A ministry in the northeast which has been using the pastor's car to bring people to worship and activities could use a 15 to 18 passenger van.
An Arab ministry in Chicago wishes to make contact with the larger Arabic community through radio spots. Financial help is needed.

The church is not a building
That's what the children's song tells us. But, that gathering of posts and beams, walls and windows... that structure... can give structure to the ministry within and without its walls. This issue is about buildings - how Mission Partners help missions of the ELCA purchase land, construct facilities and furnish those buildings. In short, how we, together, build to the glory of God and provide places to gather and equip the people of God. A church building, of course, is not necessary for the gathering and equipping of the saints. That can and does happen with or without walls. Still, a building can make a lot of ministry possible, from defining sacred space for worship, to providing a welcome place of shelter for the homeless and being a safe haven for pre-school or after-school activities. And a myriad of other possibilities. So, we lift up individuals and congregations who help others grow by making the construction of buildings - places of ministry possible. Thank you for this... and all you do... to Make Christ Known.

Marlys Waldo, Director ELCA Mission Partners

All involved are committed to keeping the gift "chain" going
Inspired by a twenty-year old gift, mission congregations in the Rocky Mountain Synod are finding new ways to support one another's ministries.

In 1979, Trinity Lutheran Church of DeWitt, Nebraska, commemorated its 100th anniversary with a $100,000 gift to the Central District of the former American Lutheran Church.

Faith Community Lutheran Church, the recipient, used Trinity's gift to help buy six and a half acres and construct a building in Longmont, Colorado.

Years later, inspired by Trinity's generosity, Faith decided to celebrate its own 15th anniversary with a $15,000 gift for a new mission start in this fast-growing synod. It pledged another $20,000 on its recent 20th anniversary.

First to receive funds was Cross of Christ in Broomfield, Colorado. Moved by the generosity of Faith and other donors, Cross of Christ decided to keep the ball rolling. Since it organized in 1994, the congregation has sent gifts to Tree of Life Lutheran in Orem, Utah; Lord of the Hills in Aurora, Colorado; and the Denver Women's Correctional Facility.

The receiving congregation can use the money as it pleases, with one string attached: it must pass along a gift to a new church as soon as possible. Barely a year after it organized, Lord of the Hills kept its promise and gave $500 each to Prince of Peace Lutheran in Logan, Utah, and Shepherd of the Mountains in Estes Park, Colorado.

The gifts are significant in a synod with nearly 10 new Lutheran congregations in various stages of development - all in areas marked by skyrocketing real estate prices.

"We're looking at some big dollars," says Jim Hytjan, the synod's mission director. "It takes a million dollars to buy five acres in a high-growth area, plus $125 to $150 a square foot to build a new church."

All the churches involved are committed to keeping the gift "chain" going.

"St. Augustine said you should become the bread you hold in your hand," says Cross of Christ Pastor Keith Prekker. "This is not just talking about ministry, not theorizing or theologizing. This is being the church!"

"The point is to give back, to support the way that we were supported, and to give somebody a boost," says Pastor Daniel Hansen of Faith Community. "This project keeps alive the memory of how we were helped, and it keeps our mission - to reach out to others - front and center."

"And," he adds, "buildings communicate life. They send a message to the community that we are alive and well - and to come and see!"

Phoenix thrift shop raises $1 million to help fund new church buildings
When it comes to mission projects, the Grand Canyon Synod has a secret weapon: the Lutheran Thrift Shop in Phoenix.

Started seven years ago by Mission Director Paul Halvorson and volunteers led by retiree Dot Nelson, the store has raised more than $1 million. photo: Shoppers search for bargains at the Lutheran Thrift Shop, which raises money for mission projects for the Grand Canyon Synod.

Thrift Shop proceeds helped Pan de Vida, located in El Mirage, Arizona, pay cash to construct its modest building, which replaced a tiny house that could only hold 30 people. Other Arizona mission congregations that have received major gifts for buildings are Celebration Lutheran Church in Peoria, Light of the Desert in Carefree, and Spirit of Grace in Surprise.

The Thrift Store's board meets quarterly to review funding requests and works closely with the synod office to select the beneficiaries.

"The Thrift Store's intent was to support synod projects that wouldn't be funded otherwise," says Halvorson. Proceeds have helped fund capital campaigns, construction projects, debt reduction campaigns, and projects of the 12-church Phoenix urban coalition.

A second branch of the Thrift Store recently opened in Mesa, Arizona. "People love these stores," Halvorson notes, "and our many retirees love to work there."

Apple Fest pays mortgage, links congregations
When October rolls around, members of Hope Lutheran in Ellijay, Georgia will start dusting off their grills, and members of Immanuel Lutheran in Thomasboro, Illinois will be starting the drive south.

They'll rendezvous at Hope's booth at Ellijay's Apple Fest, where they'll cook and serve bratwurst and soft drinks to the throngs visiting the mountain community in the "Apple Capital of Georgia." The proceeds - about $8,000 - will go toward the mortgage on the three-story log cabin that Hope uses for worship, fellowship, and education.

Partners for two years, the churches know the highway between Thomasboro and Ellijay like the backs of their hands. Twice yearly visits have included pulpit exchanges, potlucks, and restaurant meals - not to mention all the bratwurst they can eat!

Immanuel voted to participate in the Mission Founders program as part of its 125th anniversary celebration in 1999. As a Founder, Immanuel completely funds the mission developer's compensation package at Hope. Always a strong supporter of ELCA global mission, Immanuel chose Mission Founders in order to expand its domestic mission.

"We wanted to say thank you to the whole church, and we feel very good about being involved in a U.S. project," says Immanuel Pastor James Lehmann.

Pacifica's Jubilee 2000 (J2K) raises $817,000 to pare ebt of mission congregations California, Hawaii churches struggling to pay mortgages
Thanks to a synod-wide campaign, four congregations in the Pacifica Synod have been "Set Free for Service."

The four churches - Christ Lutheran, Mililani, Hawaii; Cross and Crown, Rancho Cucamonga; Lord of Life, Moreno Valley; and Shepherd of Life, Lake Elsinore - were burdened by debts ranging from $800,000 to $1.4 million. One congregation was eight months in arrears on loan payments and others were on the verge of closing their doors and selling their property. Photo: Bishop Murray Finck pauses before starting his pledge-supported ascent of Mt. Whitney in November.

As mission congregations, all four churches had undertaken building campaigns with confidence. But high real estate prices in Southern California and Hawaii made the loans large, and the huge debts could not be serviced when economic reverses caused attendance to decline.

The closing of March Air Force Base decimated Lord of Life. Cross and Crown lost members when a large corporation left the community. "People moved away," explained Pastor Lyle W. A. Peterson, Assistant to the Bishop. "All four communities faced a pretty depressed situation."

Inspired by Leviticus 25, Pacifica's 1999 Synod Assembly launched Jubilee 2000, a campaign to raise $2 million to lower the $4.6 million debt.

Support for Jubilee 2000 was tremendous. More than 2000 prayer partners prayed daily for the success of the campaign. Congregations donated stock, cash, and raffled off quilts and a red sports car to help cover the debt. A 5-year-old member of Trinity Lutheran in Hemet, California collected $101. And Bishop Murray D. Finck vowed to climb to the top of 14,494-foot Mt. Whitney, supported by pledges ranging from a penny to a dollar a foot.

By the end of 2000, Jubilee 2000 had raised $817,000, including a 10 percent grant from the ELCA Mission Investment Fund.

Loan payments are now current and manageable, and the four congregations are excited about their new ministries.

"Just as Jesus removed the stone in front of his grave, so He is still removing stones and obstacles that stand in the way of His ministry," said Pastor Dave Miller of Lord of Life. "J2K gifts helped make this happen, and we're deeply grateful that it is freeing the ministry of Lord of Life to prosper and grow!"

"The Gospel invites us to ‘bear one another's burdens‘ in love, and we did," said Pastor Peterson, who directed Jubilee 2000. "J2K helped us see how congregations, conferences, and synods could be in partnership in new ways today and in the future, so that mission congregations are never again in this situation."

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