The Reach of A Neighborhood Church
A beautiful thing happened in East Falls yesterday that meant so much to us at Redeemer.
I told the Ambassadors about this on our way to visit our 65th church this morning. They, too, were moved. (I’ll write about our very interesting Ambassador’s visit later.)
What happened yesterday points to the impact of a neighborhood church that reaches beyond church statistics.
For several years, about ten years ago, Redeemer held two-week music camps in the summer. Most of the children who attended were not Redeemer members. We usually worked on a cantata for the holiday season or just taught choral music.
This week one of the girls who attended our music camp graduated from high school. Her family is very active in another East Falls church but they crossed Midvale to take part in events at Redeemer. This led to the whole family attending Lutheran Church Camp, which led to music from Lutheran Church Camp being introduced in Roman Catholic Schools. There is a cross-cultural nature to religious life in East Falls.
Anyway, I hadn’t seen much of the family for years, while we fought this shameful church battle.
Nevertheless, the family remembered the role Redeemer had played in their child’s upbringing. I was invited to attend the graduation party.
Redeemer had many such programs going on. We hosted the East Falls Children’s choir, had six-week summer day camp and had an ongoing legacy and reputation for quality child care. Many adults in East Falls can remember attending Redeemer’s programs, which have established significant good will in the community.
Much of this has been squandered by SEPA’s greedy interference. As they coveted our assets, they needed to paint a picture of a failing and desperate church. The Bible calls it “bearing false witness.”
It was heart-warming that years after SEPA locked our doors, some people in the neighborhood remember their roots in Redeemer.
Bishop Burkat’s forecast was that the memory of Redeemer would be gone in six months.
That’s not all she has been wrong about!
The reach of a neighborhood church is well beyond statistics. For that reach to begin to show statistically, there must be consistency and follow-up—impossible when you take a caretaker approach to ministry and/or bring conflict to a congregation every few years.
Open the church doors in East Falls. Return the land to East Falls Lutherans and let ministry happen in this neighborhood again—the Lutheran way.