From the President, Bob McKinney

I was having trouble coming up with my report for this month.  I just felt that I should give a “State of the Church” message as I see it.  So here we go…These past few years have been a long and sometimes difficult journey for Living Lord Lutheran Church.  We have lived through COVID-19, we have closed and opened and closed and opened the church, we have struggled with attendance post COVID-19, we went from two services on Sunday to one service each Sunday, mask or no mask, conflict within the congregation, a change in our financial picture, our long-time pastor retired, and the list goes on.  All these challenges put in our way!  Let us look at the good side of our picture.  Our attendance is getting stronger, our Outreach programs are starting back since COVID-19, our beautiful choir is singing for us on Sundays, our Fellowships are well attended, our Adult Forum and Bible Study are well attended.  I know the call process has been difficult for many of us and I understand the frustration.  But because of our financial situation, we are in a different position than we have been in the past.  We are one of five congregations in our Synod that are looking for a part-time pastor and none have found one.  I have been talking with Mitch Phillips at the Synod and he has told me that pastors are not looking for a part-time gig and he is right.  This slows the process down for us.  Our best bet is creating a parish with another church and sharing the pastor between us.  As most of you know, I have been talking with St. John Lutheran Church in Champion, which I feel would be a good fit for us.  They are a little behind us as they just finished and filed their Ministry Site Profile with the Synod.  I should be talking with their Call Committee Chairperson within the next week.  Please remember, it took three years to call Pastor Bill.  We are praying as a congregation each night to ask God for a vision and purpose for our church.  All we need to do is open our hearts and listen.  Let us all stay positive and work together toward one goal…making Living Lord Lutheran Church a vital part of this community.

 

Pasta Dinner Update…The Pasta Dinner hosted by Living Lord, St. John, and St. Paul Lutheran Churches at St. Paul was a huge success.  We raised $1,800.00 to go to Trumbull Mobile Meals.  Thank you to everyone who assisted with or attended this joint event.

 

Church Information…Please remember that you can obtain church information from the monthly Lamplighter Newsletter, the Constant Contact emails you receive, on the church website (www.lllc.org), on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Living-Lord-Lutheran-Church-493806727349110/), and postings on the church bulletin board.  Church Council Meeting minutes are posted on the bulletin board and sent out via Constant Contact.  We would like to see a better “open rate” when we send information to you via Constant Contact so that we know you are being informed of the activities that are occurring at the church.  If you have any other suggestions on how best to reach out to our parishioners, please see a Council member.