Visiting Musician Praises LM and Bruce BengtsonDavid Cherwien, cantor at Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Minneapolis and artistic director of the National Lutheran Choir, visited Luther Memorial on Palm Sunday as part of his sabbatical tour, and wrote about it in his blog, Cherwien's Sabbatical Musings. "They have 'held on' and do liturgy well with high quality music," he wrote. "The choir does an enormous amount of good literature, all in the context of the liturgy. The people own what happens, and I felt a very healthy atmosphere there. It clearly wasn't about them - it was about God, and what the people were there to do: worship God. No insider/outsider atmosphere, no 'visitor' hunt for new membership meat. Very refreshing." Apartments Being Built Behind ChurchStevens Construction Company (LZ, LLC) has begun work on a 14-story, 162-unit apartment building at the corner of Mills and Johnson Streets near Luther Memorial. Under an agreement between the church and Stevens, the church sold its parking lot on the corner for $850,000 in cash and 25 underground parking spaces valued at $20,000 each, for a total value of $1,350,000.
Stevens has moved the Conklin house (shown at right before work began) to a new location. The house on Johnson Street has been torn down. Other parking options are available; bicycling, carpooling, and bus riding are encouraged. Stevens expects to complete construction by August 2009. Candlelight Procession PicturesLuther Memorial member Doug Swiggum captured part of the candlelight procession at the church's March 22 Easter Vigil in some time-lapse photos that he wove together into a video. It begins in total darkness, shows the candlelight moving around the nave, and ends with worshipers in the pews with their candles. Council Elects OfficersThe Luther Memorial Congregational Council has elected Eric Alborn as president; Cameron Scarlett, vice president, Mary Powell, secretary; Bill Braham, financial secretary; and Jerry Norenberg, treasurer. Christianity and Violence Conference and BlogLuther Memorial Church has begun a blog and hosted a theological conference on "Crossing Authority," the tension between authority and ethics, February 1-2, 2008. National Search for New Senior PastorLuther Memorial's Call Committee and Bishop Bruce Burnside are conducting a nationwide search for a new senior pastor. Thirty-five candidates were identified by either members of the congregation, the Bishop’s office, or the Call Committee as persons who should be contacted. The Call Committee mailed an introductory letter, stewardship brochure, and personal note to the candidates. Thirteen candidates responded, expressing an interest in the vacancy and stating that they would be forwarding their mobility papers to the Call Committee. The committee has reviewed nine sets of mobility papers that have been received thus far. Discussion at group meetings has led to consensus on which candidates will be invited for an initial candidate interview. Simply Giving Form OnlineLuther Memorial Church and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans offer Simply Giving®, a system through which pledges to the church may be deducted automatically from a member's checking, savings, or credit card account weekly or once or twice a month. The form for enrolling is available online [PDF, 148KB]. Simply open, print out, and fill out the form and put it in the offering plate or mail it to the church office. The form also can be used to change information such as address, account number, or pledged amount. May-June Door OnlineLuther Memorial's monthly publication, The Door, is online in PDF format. The May-June [1.9 mb] issue has information about summer mission trips, activities and services, lessons and hymns for Sunday services, and more. The May-June calendar [24 kb] also is online. Back issues are available, too. |
The church bought the property in the early 1970s for about $75,000. The 25 underground parking stalls for Luther Memorial will be on the north end of the building and provide convenient access to the church.