For the past several months, the deacons and the church council have been discussing a new Wednesday program to begin this fall. We will be joining forces with our sister church in East Grand Forks, Christ the King Free Lutheran Church. A steering committee between the two churches was set up to develop a plan. I think the idea is very good. I am excited about it, and I hope you will be too. There are still a few more details to work out, but since we are barely a month away now, I think it is good to lay out what we know so far.
In short, there will be something for everyone: a children’s program, youth group, and adult Bible study. There will even be a free supper every Wednesday evening.
You might think, A dinner, that’s good bait. You’re right, kind of. It is bait, but it’s much more than that. It’s not just a way to get people to come to the Bible studies. Supper is a good thing in and of itself. Think of the great fellowship we experience at our Lenten suppers. It is good for God’s people to eat together and talk together. It’s a benefit. We are also hoping the supper makes it easier for people to attend. Think about your daily life. If you’re going to do something in the evening, you have to plan ahead, right? You especially have to figure out supper. Not only do you have to figure out what to have, but you also have to budget the appropriate amount of time for it. It makes evening activities more difficult. So we would like to take something off your plate by putting something on your plate.
After supper we will probably have a brief activity or lesson together before dividing into the kids group, youth group, and adult Bible study. As of now, we don’t have plans to staff a nursery. Parents can keep their little children with them during Bible study. If you prefer a nursery, let us know, and we can consider it.
We have most of the people we need in place. Stephen Larson will be coordinating meals. Micah Berge will continue as youth director. And Pastor Sam Wellumson and I will handle adult Bible study. If anyone would like to assist in a certain area, let us know. We could still use a few more volunteers.
We’ll be swapping locations between Trinity and Christ the King, but we won’t swap every week. That would be too confusing. Instead, we will likely swap monthly or seasonally (September-December and January-May).
Lastly, why do this together? Each congregation might be able to do this independently, but we would need more people (volunteers and participants) to do it right. We think we can do it better together. We also have a great relationship between our congregations. We already do VBS together, and we have shared pulpits for Lenten services. Many people from Trinity also have family and friends at Christ the King and (obviously) vice-versa, so our congregations are already very connected. And as far as trusting another pastor to teach you, I trust Pastor Wellumson as much as anyone, including myself.
I am thankful for and encouraged by those who have been working to plan this, and I expect it will be a blessing to us all.
The peace of Christ be with you all,
Pastor Dan