more Doing


less with By Kathryn Sime Illustrations by Kathy Hirsh S


even years ago, the soſtball team manager of Wood- lake Lutheran Church


in Richfield, Minn., faced a challenge. While the congregation once


boasted a strong team, declining membership no longer made it feasible to be a soſtball pow- erhouse, or any force at all, in the Richfield Church League. In fact, the league itself was in danger of disbanding due to a lack of teams. To continue playing soſt-


ball, Scott Dahlquist did what any team manager would do—he scouted out new talent. “I sent a letter to all the churches in the area that didn’t have teams,” he said. In the end, two other


Richfield congregations joined Woodlake: Oak Grove Lutheran Church and St. Richard’s Roman Catholic Church. Eventually the team, known as the Woodgrove


Saints, joined the neighboring Bloomington (Minn.) Church/Spiritual League when the Richfield league dis- banded. Dahlquist and 18 other players now bat for the Saints, whose success on the field may not always reflect their success at inter-congregational collaboration.


16 www.thelutheran.org


‘If we’re going to sustain our involvement in this program,


the way forward is to do that as a collaborative effort with some other congregations.’


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