'Good death' for a local congregation

SANDUSKY — Mainline Christian worship attendance is dwindling. Congregations are running out of money to maintain their buildings and secure pastoral leadership. Most seminaries report fewer and fewer candidates for public ministry are applying for enrollment. Nationally, in 2019, some 4,500 Protestant congregations closed. Later this year, St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sandusky will be part of this year's statistic. But the remnant of St. Paul's membership says the congregation's story is far from over. Determined to shut down before spending down to their congregation's last penny, the people of St. Paul resolved to create a legacy for the congregation both in the church and in the community. A first step in that legacy has been taken. St. Paul has sent a gift to Luther Seminary of St. Paul, Minnesota, in the amount of $225,000. Luther is a seminary of St. Paul's denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Its Faithful Innovation initiative and its ever-growing live and online Faith+Lead learning opportunities provide clues for experimentation for those wishing "to tell the old, old story" in fresh and meaningful ways. Studies show that Americans still have an interest in spirituality, in "something beyond." They are just not apt to go seek it within the walls of a church building. Some Christians are looking to go back to the work of the earliest church, taking the good news of Jesus Christ to people wherever they are, and creating "fresh expressions" of church, new communities of the faithful where such people already gather. In the view of St. Paul's congregation council, among Evangelical Lutheran Church in America seminaries, Luther Seminary has taken the lead in helping the church and its leaders repurpose themselves for the kind of outreach called for in today's society and culture. St. Paul released its called pastor and sold its building and property at Mills Street and Perkins Avenue in the fall of 2021. The congregation had its last worship service last November, and soon, paperwork will be filed by which it will formally close. But it is doing so with proceeds left from the sale of its property and other resources. The gift to Luther Seminary represents a gift to the church at large while remaining funds will be available for local projects to introduce and, for some, reintroduce Christ to the people of the area. Even after the gift to Luther Seminary, a sizeable amount remains. It will become a donor-advised legacy fund placed with the Erie County Community Foundation. A legacy fund advisory group of former St. Paul members will be in place to receive requests for grants with a particularly favorable eye toward supporting Christ-centered outreach in the greater Sandusky area. The advisory group is charged with being faithful to its Lord, to the guidance of the Holy Spirit,and to the people who called St. Paul their home congregation over some 130 years. Contact council president Larry Riedy at 419 656-1832 or council advisor Pastor Phil Gardner at 419 625-6771 for more information.