At First Lutheran, giving is up 4.5% as compared to last year at this same time. In-person attendance is up, as compared to last year as well. Recently, two separate large legacy gifts were given (stay tuned for details) that allow us to bring on youth ministry staff as well as new music ministries staff—including a new choir director, Cori Vought-Carey. Cori hopes to lead a September-May senior choir that sings all but one Sunday a month. We’re also able to ask her to create something new: a Youth Choir for 5th–8th graders who will rehearse most weeks and sing in worship once a month. The generosity and creativity of our members and staff along with our willingness to work very hard are resulting in a greater capacity for…

1. authentic welcome

2. meaningful community and

3. serving our neighbors

Since establishing our Core Values Statement in 2023, we have been energized by our focus on welcoming all, beginning with our decision to become a Reconciling in Christ congregation. This past program year, our emphasis was, “We Build Community,” and I heard members of our church using that phrase often in my own home, among our OWLs and even among our middle and high schoolers. This upcoming program year, we will emphasize our core value that “We Serve Our Neighbor.” What will that look like? We will form a Care for Creation team, for one. All our efforts to lessen the church’s carbon/pollution footprint serve our neighbors both near and far. We will also strive to make more generous financial gifts to local hunger and homelessness initiatives. And… I’m certain there will be ideas that rise to the surface of our prayers that I can not imagine as I write this newsletter in July.

First Lutheran has moved beyond recovery mode, in the wake of the shutdown that shook up the way ‘church’ functions. As we move into the 2024/2025 program year, we are returning to our Best Practices while growing into new ministries with leaders who are truly called to their work. Nowhere was this better illustrated than through the experience of our high schoolers who went to New Orleans in July for the ELCA Youth Gathering.

I was privileged to lead 24 youth, along with 5 adults, into a Gathering that opened all our eyes, hearts and even our souls. It has been six years since the ELCA has hosted a Gathering, and as I sat with our group—along with 16,000 of our new best friends—I was reminded of this particular “Best Practice”. A Gathering shows our young people that they are not alone; that First Lutheran is not all there is. Worshiping with thousands of peers genuinely forms an unforgettable impression. It is an EXTREME experience of community.

The Gathering also teaches our kids that ‘church’ isn’t boring. The convention center was not only filled with booths where they could learn about Lutheran World Hunger (for example). It also had a giant room full of yard games, inflatables and ping pong tables. The “Old Lutheran” store—where you get your church merch—has stuff that’s downright funny. The “Community Life” dances hosted at four different hotels each night blasted music the kids actually knew. Our kids learned that being Church IS being a) Brave, b) Authentic, c) Free and d) Disruptive. These were the formal themes each of the four days. But being church is also… FUN! The kids were truly exhausted by the end of the week because they were funning so hard.

The Gathering is a great example of a “Best Practice” that shows our whole ELCA is moving beyond recovery mode. But how First Lutheran in particular did the Gathering… that we used this faith formation experience to build community among us through Faith Webs… THAT’s the exciting new thing that’s growing us beyond what we’ve ever been before. We didn’t just fundraise for the kids through bake sales and car washes. Instead, 127 families supported 57 youth with money, yes. But it was the relationships that were formed that knocked me off my feet. On our 21-hour bus ride back from New Orleans, when asked whether they knew the names of all their Faith Web supporters and could recognize them, EVERY single Gathering participant said yes and was able to not only recite their name, but text them a picture from the trip!

I am so excited to move into a program year with motivated young people, elders who feel renewed in their faith and a whole congregation that’s exploring what it means to Serve Our Neighbor this program year.

Invite a friend or neighbor to First Fest—Sept 8—with you. Lunch is on us! Invite a neighbor’s kid to Sunday School with us, or a Parents’ Night Out. Invite a friend to a jazz worship on a Wednesday night. Sept 18 is the first one this fall. We have a message the world needs to hear and a community able and willing to receive All.