Report of the Historian, Robert Ylvisaker

The 2008-09 year was a time in which the Central congregation took care of some unfinished business. It filled out the ranks of the church’s pastoral staff and completed several major renovation projects.

 

Members voted in the late summer of 2008 to call the Rev. D. Foy Christopherson to serve as associate pastor for worship, the arts, pastoral care and hospitality. Christopherson had served for two years in that position on an interim basis. Also, the Revs. Chuck Anderson and Mark Peterson, who were contracted earlier, began work in August as part-time visitation pastors.

 

Replacement of the leaking roof of the church was completed in October at a cost $494,000. That project required taking out a new $600,000 loan from the Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA and refinancing the church’s debt. Renovation of the South Commons bathrooms at a cost of $231,000 and remodeling of space on the first floor for the nursery ($26,000) were completed in April. Both projects were part of the Forward in Faith capital campaign, for which $1.7 million of a projected $2.1 million has been raised.

 

In addition, the renovation of space on the ground floor of the education wing to provide a new home for the church’s community ministries was completed in December. Given the name of The Restoration Center, the new facility was evidence of an intensified focus in Central’s historic efforts to serve the surrounding inner-city neighborhood. Under the leadership of Rolf Lowenberg-DeBoer, in his first full year as coordinator of community ministries, the Restoration Center brought together the church’s program of services and advocacy for the homeless and its Clothes Closet and Nursing Center programs. Central also linked its efforts on behalf of the homeless with those of other downtown congregations in a collaborative known as Downtown Congregations to End Homelessness (DCEH) and provided office space for that group’s community organizer, Heidi Johnson. A new ministry team, Heading Home Central, was formed to work with similarly named county and state projects to advocate for an end to homelessness.

 

Central’s outreach efforts moved in some new directions, too. A relationship with Jordan New Life Ministries, an ELCA  mission project on Minneapolis’ North Side, was established. Central contributed funds to help repair the roof of the Jordan building and to complete wiring in its community ministry center, called The Hub.

 

The Central congregation’s efforts to assist the new immigrant population in the metro area continued. Central had begun providing space for the “Full Gospel Ministries” worship community of immigrants from the Ivory Coast early in 2008. On Sunday Sept. 7 members of the two congregations came together for the first time when the Ivory Coast group hosted a luncheon featuring ethnic foods to say thank you for Central’s hospitality.

 

The connection between Central and the Ivorians was provided by Pastor Cherian Puthiyottil, director of Agora Ministries, whose work with immigrant groups in the metro area began during his years on Central’s pastoral staff. The link between Central and Agora took another form when Central hosted the classes of Agora’s Discipleship Academy, held every other Saturday morning between September and April. The classes brought together immigrants and U.S.-born persons to study Biblical themes and the Christian faith and to experience the unity of the global Christian community. The goal is to prepare and inspire students to follow Jesus in their personal lives and to become leaders in Christian communities that will minister to people in all their diversity.

 

In outreach of a different kind, Pastor Rick Nelson led a team of 12 Central members who traveled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a week in October to lend a hand with home repairs in that city, which had been hit hard by summer floods. Funds for this trip and also for 2009 vacation Bible schools as part of Lutheran Social Services’ Camp Noah program for children in areas affected by natural disasters, came from the mission-emphasis phase of the Forward in Faith campaign, A team from Central will staff a vacation Bible school at one of these camps during the summer of 2009.

 

Central’s ties with other congregations in the downtown area were on display in other ways besides collaboration on the issue of homelessness. Central took its turn as host for the ecumenical Thanksgiving Day services in November, and more than 400 voices from seven downtown churches, including Central, came together at Central for the biennial Church Choir Festival on Sunday afternoon Feb. 22.

 

Central hosted several other music events for the larger metro community. After nearly two decades an annual organ symposium returned to Central for a week in late September. The event featured Alan Morrison, head of the organ department at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, who performed a recital on Friday evening and led a workshop on Saturday. Joining Central as co-sponsor was the Twin Cities chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

 

A new part of Central’s Christmas celebration was a sing-along “Messiah” concert. Singers and listeners packed the church for the event, which was led by members of the Minnesota Orchestra, the Minnesota Chorale and directors Weston Noble and Kathy Saltzman Romey. The concert was funded by an anonymous donor.

 

A rich menu of educational programs was again offered during the year. These included a series of Bible studies on the Book of Psalms by Pastor Nelson, lectures and a sermon by Dr. Roland Miller on Islam during Global Mission Weekend in November and a series of workshops on parenting led by Associate Pastor Kristen Jacobson and Amanda Highben, youth and family minister.

 

In its observance of Lent in 2008, the congregation returned to having worship services and small meals both at noon and in the evening on Wednesdays. In addition to homilies by pastors, a new labyrinth was available for walking and meditation. Pastor Nelson also led a series of Sunday morning Bible studies and small-group conversations exploring the connections between faith and life. A Shrove Tuesday dinner party on the evening before Ash Wednesday also returned to the schedule after an absence of several years.

 

The 2008-09 period was a time of serious economic recession for the nation and world, and Central did not escape its effect. Income from envelope giving, the Central Lutheran Church Foundation and the parking ramp were all down slightly, but expenditures were also cut by a similar amount. Treasurer Mark Forsberg estimated that income and expenses would both be down about $100,000 and the congregation would end its fiscal year within 1 percent of its $2.6-million budget.

 

The year concluded with two successful events. A three-week stewardship campaign following Easter featured small gatherings in homes across the metro area where members saw a video presentation by Pastor Nelson and engaged in conversation about the meaning of stewardship at Central. On Sunday May 17, the congregation celebrated its 90th anniversary with a festival worship service that included a performance of Mozart’s Missa brevis in D by the Central Choir and members of the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and a free brunch hosted by the Central Lutheran Church Foundation. More than 800 people attended the worship service, and 500 of them stayed for the brunch.


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