JEFFREY HIGH
This building became the foundation for a ministry—affordable housing, a day program for homeless women and children, meals, community services and counseling—after Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Seattle, sold its parking lot.
to think that way, and take them through that process, was probably the most important thing.” Ways members from both con- gregations have served together include going on mission trips to Appalachia and the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina; packaging food “backpacks” for area schoolchildren through the Caring Cupboard; and playing in a praise band throughout the community. With transformational ministry assistance from the ELCA Allegheny Synod, members of Evangelical Lutheran Church, Duncansville, Pa., began to acknowledge their pain after a period of conflict, which resulted in the departure of their pas- tor and staff.
“There had to be a willingness to let God work though us, which some- times can be a challenge because our humanity gets in the way,” said Jaime Olson, who arrived as pastor almost 10 years ago. “People didn’t want to be in the position of get- ting hurt again, so it sort of blocked things up for a while. But we were able to see that God forgives, and we have the ability, then, to forgive and
22 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org move forward.”
Since then, members have resolved their conflicts. “There has been a lot of healing and we have a whole new congregation, alongside the old congregation. It was an aging congregation and now we have many younger families,” Olson said. Over the years, benevolence has increased and worship has expanded to include a contemporary media- driven “Encounter” service. The con- gregation has renovated the building to make it more welcoming, with the addition of an elevator and state- of-the-art Family Life Center, and it reaches out to the community with special events, which raise money for charity. “It’s been unbelievable to see how God has transformed things,” Olson said. “It truly is an amazing place. … I’m along for the ride, and I hold on as best as I can.”
About 15 years ago, members of Gethsemane Lutheran, Seattle, questioned whether it was pleasing to God that their small downtown church have a large parking lot, said Joanne Engquist, pastor. To deliberate, the congregation began
JEFFREY HIGH
Volunteers Jose Guerrado and Shelby Lee (foreground) prepare sandwiches for “Soup and Movies,” a program Gethsemane has held since the early 1960s. Weekly about 100 guests share a meal and then enjoy a movie.
GLAD—Gethsemane Lutheran Asphalt Development—to help them decide whether to give up yearly rental revenue of $150,000 to do something new.
The congregation ultimately decided to sell the parking lot with a goal of donating most of the pro- ceeds to a housing ministry. Little did members know that their property would some day be the foundation for that ministry.
In 2010, Gethsemane broke ground on a building project that includes Dekko Place, 50 units of affordable housing, and the Hope Center, a day program for homeless women and children, with space for daily breakfast and lunch, commu- nity services and counseling. Hope Center also runs a meal program called “Soup and Movies,” which
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