Atom“Becoming Church Friends”
“May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:5-6
“You are going to join a ‘fellowship group,’ right Pastor?” “Well, I suppose…tell me more…” We were just getting the “lay of the land” in our new home at Holy Trinity Lutheran in Ankeny, Iowa. We had moved from the small town of Adams, NE where everyone seemed to know everyone to this growing community of 25,000 people attached to the greater Des Moines metro area. Even the congregation was larger than the last town we had lived in. Adams was a community of 500. Holy Trinity claimed a membership of over 2,000! If we were going to get to know folks and find a supporting group of friends in this new place, joining a small group seemed like a good idea!
At the time, we were parents of children 5 and 2 years old, so it was the group imaginatively named “Parents of Small Children” that came calling on us and asked us to join them. And we did, meeting monthly with other parents (and on special occasions our whole families) to eat and visit and connect. It was not a Bible study group…there were other groups that formed for that particular purpose…but occasionally we did a study or talked about a particular topic. Mostly, we just enjoyed the regular, planned opportunity to connect and to make friends. It was kind of like a “mini-potluck” dinner – the once a month church gatherings that some of us grew up that gathered us and mixed us and left us refreshed in body and spirit.
Once a year the groups were formed and reformed. Some stayed together for many years, adding to their numbers by invitation. Some re-formed every year. Ours stayed pretty much the same year after year and, over time, became our best “church friends” at Holy Trinity and became our support community for the many things that life brings our way. We journeyed through parenting together and illnesses in our extended families. We went to community events and served together at church gatherings. We laughed; we cried; we prayed. We became a small “family” within a larger family.
Many of us in Detroit Lakes and at First Lutheran have groups of friends we already spend time with – connected by work or parenting or interests. Some of us do not. Some of us have been connecting here for many years. Some of us have only recently moved into this community and congregation and begun to connect. But all of us need friends to laugh with, to cry with, and to pray with.
To that end, we will be offering to form some new “small groups” at First Lutheran as we enter into the Fall Season. Some of you may already be in enough groups…this may not be for you. But if you are looking for a group to grow with, to have fun with, perhaps even to do Bible study with, this is for you.
On September 11th a brief survey will be distributed in worship to gather the names of those interested. We will also be gathering some information on that survey that may help to place you in groups with similar hopes and experiences. If you are interested, fill out the form and turn it in. Our Parish Health Cabinet will then work them through and pull together small groups to grow together during this next year. A “kick-off event” in the evening of September 25th will connect you with a group and launch this opportunity to learn and grow together.
Serving and learning with you,
Pastor Wade
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