A Little History
In 1876 our founding fathers and mothers formed the congregation to provide a place of worship in the heart of this community. We continue to honor their purpose as we worship and serve God faithfully.
Pastor's Pen
Dear Members and Friends,
As the season of Epiphany rapidly draws to a close, Lent will begin with Ash Wednesday, February 17th. During Epiphany, we have celebrated the light of Christ as we see the days growing longer again.
Lent is upon us, a time of reflection, repentance and turning back to God. Traditional practices used to center on ‘giving something up’ for Lent. Perhaps, instead, a practice of doing something positive for God would be a better Christian practice. Of course, what we feel called to do for God will be different for each one of us.
During my recent trip to India, I was blessed to stay with my friends form Calvary UM, at the Good Shepherd Mission in Puttur, A.P., India. I saw the 2 Lutheran churches, founded in Puttur in the early 1900’s by German Missionaries, to be thriving, growing and vibrant The pastors and lay leaders are now all Indian, the missionaries having left many years ago. As we visited many Christian churches, we found all denominations to be flourishing. The churches were packed to overflowing, and not just on Sundays, but for services during the week as well. We Americans were astonished to see Christian faith exploding and vibrant. On New Year’s Eve, our worship started at 7:00 pm, with the baptism of seven new adult Christians. I was asked to do the honor of presiding at the baptism, due to the fact that for every 20 village evangelists, there is only one ordained pastor. The faithful people had been instructed in Christian faith for a year, and had been waiting all that time for baptism, since pastors have many point parishes and lots of travel to remote villages. The main worship service started at 9:00 pm, and we had communion at 2:00 am, and worship concluded around 3:00 am. The next day, worship started at 10:00 am at St. John’s Lutheran in Puttur. I was asked to preach, and told that the sermon should be at least a half an hour! Pastor Emmanuel then presided at the 2 hour communion service. It was quite a different and wonderful way to bring in the New Year.
Perhaps during this Lenten season, we could reflect on renewing, nurturing and strengthening our faith. Our world and culture is different from our Indian brothers and sisters in Christ. However, it was deeply moving to see their commitment to worship and gathering together as the Body of Christ. Let us renew our hearts, minds and spirits in God’s love and compassion shown to us in Jesus, not just as individuals, but as a church community. Let us continue to reach hearts and hands out to others, both here, in our own community, and throughout the world.
As we continue through this time of transition, let us trust the One who is already in the future. And “may God, who has begun a good work in you, carry it on to completion, until the day of Jesus Christ.”
In Christ’s Peace,
Rev. Stacie Dougherty, Bridge Pastor
A Great Faith
Like those before us we worship God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. One God in three persons. We encounter each person of the Trinity in their uniqueness.
We believe that our Heavenly Father loves each of us as individuals and has a purpose for each of our lives.
We believe that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. In Him we find forgiveness and assurance of eternal life.
We believe in the Holy Spirit who is with us now to
empower us in living the life that God has called us to.
Our Vision Statements
November 3, 2008 - Vision Statement
