Congregational life
Tale of two churches Lutheran and Methodist congregations form partnership
It was fiscal pragmatism that originally led Our
Redeemer Lutheran Church, Hood River, Ore., to look at merger options. Nearly a decade later, a culture of collaboration,
service and faith enrichment has the congregation and United Methodist Church neighbors thriving in a combined church: Asbury Our Redeemer Partnership. “It’s very refreshing,” said partnership member
Kris White, who came from Our Redeemer. “I’ve experienced so much personal spiritual growth as a result of the Methodists coming in. I was happy before, but this has added so much to my personal faith.” Eight years ago, after more than 40 years as a
congregation, Our Redeemer and its then pastor Andy Wendle took a hard look at their finances, demographics and future. Sixty miles east of Portland in the Columbia River Gorge, Hood River is a resort town noted for an extraordinarily high cost of living. “We had a fairly visionary pastor who realized that
in five or 10 years we’d no longer be able to afford a full-time pastor,” said partnership member Deborah Chenoweth, who came from Our Redeemer. “We learned other congregations in town were having the same kinds of conversations, so we started talking to other groups.” One of those congregations was Asbury United
Methodist, which was worshiping in a 1912-built structure in need of significant updating. “Their congregation was even older than ours,
and they couldn’t afford a full-time pastor either,” Chenoweth said. Our Redeemer and Asbury started doing some
things together and in July 2011, Wendle was half-time pastor for both. Members of Asbury made a formal proposal to move in together and they worshiped in their sanctuary for the final time on Dec. 30, 2012. In February 2013 they voted as a congregation to sell their building. “There was quite a bit of discussion and it wasn’t
easy,” Chenoweth said. “We lost some members; they lost some.” The two congregations partnered under an agreement known as Lutherans and Methodists
28 APRIL 2016
Members of Asbury Our Redeemer Partnership, Hood River, Ore., talk after bell practice. The congregation’s 140 parishioners are members of both the ELCA and the United Methodist Church.
in Partnership—LAMP. Despite the acronym, the early days of the merger weren’t all bright. “The older we get, the more we have difficulty
with change,” said partnership member Bob White, Kris’ husband. “Folks are basically good and decent, but sometimes you get blindsided by your own history and priorities and it’s tough to let those go.” The discord led Wendle to move on in early
2013. Two interim pastors later, David King, a Methodist, is now pastor of Asbury Our Redeemer. “I have been welcomed warmly,” King said.
“There are still some folks who aren’t real happy. But I think [the merger] is a good thing.” In December 2015, Asbury Our Redeemer
members voted to replace a temporary covenant of union with a permanent constitution. The vote passed 57-3. Next on the horizon is coming up with a new name for the combined congregation—of which all 140 members are recognized as full members of both the ELCA and the United Methodist Church. “I think things are working very well,” said Gigi
Siekkinen, who came from Asbury United. “The United Methodist emphasis on outreach is comple- mented by the Lutheran congregation’s strong sense of what’s important to them in a worship service.”
By Steve Lundeberg Photos: Positive Negatives
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