As the school year comes to a close, so too does our year of Confirmation lessons. This past year, from September through May, our 7th - 9th grade students gathered every Wednesday night to learn more about prayer, the Bible, relationships, and how to live more like Jesus. However, during the Lenten season, the students took a break from regular scheduled lessons to partake in individual service [...]
Dear Sisters and Brothers of Light of Christ, It’s a new day at Light of Christ. We’ve added new staff, launched a new confirmation ministry, welcomed dozens of new members, and introduced new worship services, songs, and celebrations. And this is just the beginning. It’s a new day for us because the world around us is changing. I was ordained in 1984, the same year that Light of [...]
It’s a new day for God’s beloved here at Light of Christ. We’re beginning to live into that new day. We are taking a big step into this new day as we launch our major capital campaign in February. The first priority in our New Day capital campaign is to retire our indebtedness. We currently owe about $435,000 on our building from our last building project. Retiring [...]
Light of Christ Discoveries. In this time of discovery and discernment, a number of things have risen to catch our attention. The MAP--Missional Assessment Profile--revealed that collectively, our number one congregational priority is "To explore new and innovative ways of being the church in today's culture." Two of the other five priorities have to do with growth--that of increasing [...]
I am delighted to introduce to you two new members of our staff here at Light of Christ: Kirsten Kelly and David Schneck. Kirsten is our new Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministry and David is our new Associate Director of Children, Youth, and Family. Let me tell you a little bit about both of them and what they'll be doing. Kirsten comes to Light of Christ from Zion Lutheran Church [...]
Summer is typically a slower time here at the church but that hasn’t been the case this summer. We have not been idle. Here is some of what has been, and is, happening. The first is the Missional Assessment Profile Summit on Tuesday, August 14th at 7:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall. The Missional Assessment Profile (or MAP) is the survey that many of you took in July. The intention of the survey was to hear [...]
Here at Light of Christ, we believe that children are integral members of the body of Christ and should be able to be in worship with their families. Learning how to worship is kind of like learning how to swim--you can only learn how to swim by getting in the water. We want kids to know how to worship by giving them space to observe, participate, and experience worship in a new way. This fall, we hope to [...]
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We are up and running in our work with Kairos and Associates. We have a Leadership Team comprised of Amy Bigot, Gina Nee, Kevin Jaunich, Robin Olson, JoMarie Williamson, John Zerull and me. We’ve met several times already and we’re ready to take the first step which is to have the congregation take the Missional Assessment Profile (MAP). The MAP will be available to you to take over the first [...]
We are launching our strategic visioning and planning process with Tim Johnson from Kairos and Associates. Our Leadership Team has been recruited and they will be meeting within the coming week to outline the first steps in this process. I think it’s important to remind ourselves right at the beginning that strategic planning in the church is different than it is in the business or academic world. The [...]
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Dear Friends in Christ, I write this letter to tell you what a blessing it has been to work with the children, youth, and families here at Light of Christ. I now ask for your blessing as I answer a new call and pursue a masters degree this fall. Light of Christ has been a family and a home to me. I have loved collaborating with you in youth ministry, nourishing and expanding our children’s [...]
At a special Congregational Meeting on April 22nd, we voted to hire Kairos and Associates to lead us in a strategic planning process that will lead us into a major fundraising campaign over the next several years. The actual vote tally was 77 in favor, 17 opposed, and 4 abstentions. I’m delighted that we have made this decision. I believe it will serve to strengthen our mission and ministry as a [...]
Last fall the Worship and Music Committee reviewed our worship attendance and patterns over the summer. One of their observations was that the worship attendance on Wednesday evenings has been declining. So they decided to not hold Wednesday evening services this summer. Instead we will use this summer and fall to explore other options for a second service during the summer. So we invite your thoughts and prayers as we [...]
