Love grows E
Diverse community served by St. Paul, Minn., church By Susan J. Alexis
ight years ago, the council of First Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minn., posed a question: “Does love live here?”
To find an answer, the congregation offered Sunday morning breakfast conversations, not only for members but for people in the neighborhood. As attendance grew, the breakfasts morphed into the current Thursday eve- ning meal and Love Grows Here Wellness Center.
The core of the wellness center is collaboration, said director Allie
Tunseth. The church sits in what is now a poor area of the city. While unable to financially support a holistic wellness ministry on its own, the congrega- tion formed creative partnerships with organizations that provide services. Everyone wins.
First provides rent-free office space to the Dayton’s Bluff Block Nurse program, which helps neighborhood seniors remain in their homes. By sup- porting this program, the church assists the area’s elderly in a way it couldn’t do directly.
Alexis is a freelance writer in Albuquerque, N.M., with family ties to First Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minn. 32 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
where Swedes planted
Members and neighborhood friends of First Lutheran, St. Paul, Minn., gather every Thursday evening for a meal at the church’s Love Grows Here Wellness Center. Desiree, 7, has been attending for more than two years and hopes to one day run the center.
And there are others:
• The church houses Ministering Angels Clothes Closet at no charge. From it, jobless or homeless indi- viduals who come to the Thursday evening wellness center receive clothing and household items. • The Metropolitan State University Public Health Nurse program sends students to the center for their practi- cum. Under supervision, they offer blood pressure checks, foot care, health teaching and referrals. • Walk-In Counseling provides pro- fessional counselors. • St. Paul Community Education offers classes such as cooking and
ALLIE TUNSETH
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52