ELCA Congregation Partners with Local School, Impacts Young Lives

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of Trinity Lutheran Church,
Ashland, Ohio, believe their mission is "doing for others in our
community." When personnel from a school in the area approached
the congregation about using its new gym for an after-school
program, Trinity saw an opportunity. But neither the
congregation nor the school staff anticipated that the program
would change the lives of children in special ways.
The after-school program is not "a babysitting program,"
said Charmaine Kaylor, a member of Trinity and program director.
The church is invested in providing a safe place for children to
learn, have fun and engage with one another and the community in
positive ways," she said. Trinity is a congregation of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Ashland City Schools, located in some of Ashland's lowest-
income areas, and Trinity formed an agreement whereby children
are bused from the school to the church for Trinity's "Beacon
After-School Program." For $1 a day, the children participate in
the two-hour program. Trinity's pastor arranged for local
businesses to donate funds to help the church run the program.
"We begin with devotions and serve a nutritious snack," said
Kaylor. Afterward students break into three groups -- one made
up of fourth- through sixth-graders, and two groups of second-
through fourth-graders. Students in one group complete their
school homework, while others engage in activities ranging from
hosting a magician to storytelling, from learning to cook and
practicing kitchen safety to growing organic foods. Then groups
switch, she said.
Once a month the students are taken to a nearby nursing home
to visit residents, and once a month a social service worker
talks with the students. At 5 p.m. the entire group gathers for
a fun group activity, Kaylor said. There are 40 children in the
program. Children who've been identified as "at risk" are sent
to Trinity based on the school's recommendation, she said.
"We have seen a definite change in the children," said
Kaylor. "We have seen kids build self-esteem, make more eye
contact with people and proactively welcome new students. We are
an open ear and place of acceptance for all children," she said.
"We also strive to be a ministry for the whole family, not
just with the kids," Kaylor said, adding that the program staff
is working to link families into the life of the congregation.
Last year four families whose children participate in the Beacon
program decided to become baptized and join the congregation.
"We also strive to be hospitable, so that families and others
invited into the church are not feeling intimidated in entering a
place without knowing folks," she said.
Kaylor noted a difference among church members "who are
touched by the after-school program and are eager to offer their
support, such as reading a story or engaging in conversation with
the children during snack time. The congregation has not looked
the other way when some of the kids come to church on Sunday.
Many of the children have little resources at home and often find
their own way of coming to church on Sundays."
"The kids come to church for the same reason as everyone
else -- to learn about the love of Jesus Christ," said Kaylor.

Gifts of ELCA large congregations
Trinity Lutheran Church is a large congregation of the ELCA.
According to the Rev. Mark A. Grorud, director for relationships
with large-membership congregations, ELCA Evangelical Outreach
and Congregational Mission, large congregations are "a different
kind of ministry."
Although "bigger isn't always better," Grorud said, "large
congregations have certain gifts with great ministry potential."
Of the ELCA's 10,470 congregations, 100 congregations have
more than 750 worshippers on a given Sunday. There are 180
congregations in the church with a worship attendance of 500 to
750 Lutherans. Each of the ELCA's 65 synods "has large
congregations, depending on the context of the synod. A large
congregation in a synod may consist of 200 Lutherans worshipping"
on a given Sunday, Grorud said.
Grorud identified four unique gifts that large congregations
share. The first is "a drive for excellence," he said.
"Everything we do is done well." A second is an entrepreneurial
approach to mission and ministry -- "congregations that think
outside of the box," he said. Third is that the ministries of a
large congregation are led by visionary leaders. These
congregations expect the leader to provide and carry out the
vision of the congregation, said Grorud. Finally, large
congregations "are involved in just about every type of ministry.
There is a multiplicity of programs and ministries, and there are
people resources" to carry out them out, he said.
"These unique gifts are not held exclusively to large
congregations, but this is what I would expect to find in large
congregations," said Grorud.
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Information about Trinity's Beacon After-School Program is
at http://tinyurl.com/6qd74m and information about ELCA large
congregations is at http://tinyurl.com/55hlzc on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog