RISING FROM THE ASHESA Pennsylvania Congregation Re-envisions Its Needs

The MUSTARD SEED

WHEN ARSON GUTTED Holy Trinity Lu-theran Church’s former parsonage in Eph-rata, Pennsylvania, the congregation could have used the insurance money it received to remodel the building, which it had been using as office space. Instead, Holy Trinity decided to dream big.

Once its insurance company confi rmed the con-gregation could use the insurance proceeds as seed money to build something different, Holy Trinity knocked down the burned building. Working with a local contracting fi rm, the con-gregation created a wish list for its new building. That initial “dream building” would have cost the congregation $4.5 million.

So the congregation whittled its dream build-ing down to a more manageable $1.5 million. This space would still include offi ces, a second entrance, a social area or “café” and a larger, more effi cient kitchen to better accommodate its Meals on Wheels and community meal pro-grams. A new multi-use room would also double as a gym, serving the needs of both the con-gregation’s after-school program and the handi-capped children who attend preschool there. The

congregation also decided to use “green” build-ing practices in constructing the building to save on future utility costs.

The project took almost fi ve years to complete.Fundraising began just as the U.S. economy was heading into recession. Still, Holy Trinity

Pastor Henry Herbener oustide Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.

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SUMMER 2012

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Holy Trinity’s new multi-use room can accommo-date everything from community meals to pick-up basketball games.

raised more than $800,000 toward the project through congregational giving, with a Mission Investment Fund loan making up the difference.

Why borrow from the Mission Investment Fund instead of a bank? Holy Trinity was drawn to MIF’s unique commitment to mission. “MIF is the church,” explains Holy Trinity’s pastor, the Rev. Henry Herbener. “The interest payments we make on our mortgage help finance loans to other congregations in similar situations. It

was appealing to us to be able to help other congregations like that.”

The building project has brought Holy Trinity new attention and new members, as people watched the new building rise on Main Street. But even more important, the new space is enabling Holy Trinity to better live out its mis-sion. Holy Trinity’s neighborhood has a num-ber of lower-income residents. “Although we hosted community meals before the building project, the space was hot, stuffy and crowded,” Pastor Herbener explains. Now, Holy Trinity hosts regular community meals in a welcoming, air-conditioned space.

The congregation is also opening up its multi-use room as a free community center. Its new indoor basketball court is helping attract more neighborhood kids to its after-school program. This fall, Holy Trinity will join another local Lutheran congregation in canvassing the com-munity to assess other ways the new building can meet residents’ needs.

Who would have thought that a fire could lead to so many new ways to serve?

A Counter-clockwise PropositionFor Summer Heat

You are sitting in your sanctuary. The prelude is playing. You look up. What do you see?

In the most energy-conscious congregations, you see ceiling fans.

In sanctuaries and fellowship halls, ceiling fans

typically are installed to keep the rooms cool. When ceiling fans run in a counter-clockwise direction, the air movement can make a room feel up to 8 degrees cooler. With a ceiling fan at work, you can easily raise the temperature on the thermostat for your air conditioning. You will feel cooler—and save energy at the same time.

Meanwhile, reversible ceiling fans can also help trim your energy costs in winter. Running the fans in a clockwise direction will pull up the

GREEN TIPS

warm air and push it off the ceiling and down the walls. This circulates the warm air without creating a breeze. Ceiling fans can lower heat-ing costs by as much as 10 percent.

And for even more energy savings, remember to turn off those fans when you are not in the room!

For more energy-saving ideas, please visit MIF’s website elca.org/mif/green, “Caring for Creation—MIF Green Resources.”

Participating in the Mission Investment Fund is a “no-brainer” for Olivet Lutheran Church in Fargo, North Dakota. That’s how Olivet’s pastor, the Rev. Jeff Sandgren, explains the congrega-tion’s decision to invest all of its endowment fund with MIF. “The security of the Mission Invest-ment Fund goes back a hundred years,” Pastor Sandgren says. “And in all that time, no one’s ever lost a penny on one of MIF’s investments.”

That is by no means the only reason this 3,800- member congregation invests with MIF. “We show what we love by what we do with what we have,” Pastor Sandgren explains. And Olivet’s love of God calls it to invest its endowment in ways that help other congregations grow their ministries, too. Earnings from Olivet Lutheran’s endowment fund fi nance a wide range of minis-tries, including the congregation’s parish nurse, a number of its youth outreach efforts, local campus ministries and The Project, an emerging young adult ministry in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

Now, Olivet is breaking ground on a new build-ing project of its own—to expand the narthex and add offi ce and kitchen space. When it came to choosing a lender to help fund a portion of the project, Olivet once again turned to the Mission Investment Fund. “We speak the same language,” Pastor Sandgren says. “MIF understands church fi nances and they make the application process very streamlined.” This new building loan from MIF will enable Olivet Lutheran to better serve both its members and the larger community well into the future. “This debt is not a millstone around our necks,” Pastor Sandgren says, “but a tool that enables us to accomplish our mission.”

A North Dakota Congregation Puts Its Money Where Its Heart Is

This 3,800-member congregation in Fargo invests all of its endowment fund with MIF.

MIF NEWS BRIEFS

MIF presented a $100,000 grant to the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering, enabling 103 youth and 38 adults to attend this year’s event in New Orleans, July 18-22.

MIF’s grant helped pay for participants’ registra-tion fees, travel, lodging and meals. Priority was given to new and renewing congregations as well as congregations located in impoverished com-munities. Without this MIF assistance, some of the teens and adults would not have been able to participate in this year’s Gathering.

“It means the world to young people—whose voices are too often not heard, whose contributions too often aren’t valued, and who often aren’t treated

MIF grant helps 100+ teens go to Youth Gathering

MIF’s $100,000 grant to the Youth Gathering provided assistance with registration fees, travel, lodging and meals.like the leaders they are—to be given a chance to stand in the community of the church—their church—alongside everyone else,” says ELCA Youth Gathering Director Heidi Hagstrom.

The Youth Gathering attracts some 36,000 ELCA teens for worship, fellowship and service.

Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA 8765 W. Higgins Road Chicago, IL 60631 877-886-3522 elca.org/mif

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