Karen Young shops for a pic- ture frame at the flea market in Trinity’s parking lot in Brewster. Community members pay the church $25 for booth space and keep what they make in sales. Along with money from food sales, it’s another way Trinity makes ends meet in this economy.
receives on the investment from the church sale. The synod gives Salam $3 back (from the sale of the church) for every $1 that members put in the offering plate.
on hard times. As a result, the Met- ropolitan New York Synod sold the church building earlier this year to a Chinese developer for $1.5 million, said Khader El-Yateem, pastor of Salam. With a vibrant congregation but
no place to worship, El-Yateem asked his colleague Craig A. Miller, pas- tor of Our Saviour Lutheran Church several blocks away, to share worship space. Today, both churches hold ser- vices in Our Saviour’s large building. It’s a win-win situation, El-Yateem, said, “Our Saviour needed money and we needed space.”
The Salam congregation pays Our Saviour $1,500 a month. While the fee may sound steep, Salam can tap, if needed, into the interest the synod
While El-
Yateem admits that the situation isn’t perfect, for now it’s working because Salam continues to have a strong ministry, especially with young people. “We bring a message of hope and
healing. We try to work with every- one, to build bridges, especially in these days of political friction,” he said. “Our message is one of getting along.”
Noting that Salam also helps new immigrants, El-Yateem said, “We’re still very active. The finances are bringing us down.” The congregation also benefits from churches in Wisconsin that send support: Calvary Lutheran, Green Bay; Our Saviour, Appleton; and
Christ the King, Combined Locks, each gives $3,000 to $5,000 a year. “The church is the people,”
El-Yateem added. “We’re not perfect and we make bad decisions. We have to keep asking the questions until we get the answers.”
‘For rent’
The ministry at Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Mason City, Iowa, con- tinues to be strong, even though finances are not. With factories clos- ing and members losing jobs, the congregation is always looking for creative ways to go forward. “People are still coming to church
and still giving,” said Emily Horrell, who came to Our Saviour four years ago after graduating from seminary. “We’re not really hurting, but we are looking for creative ways. We’re not spending money willy-nilly.” One of the ways the church is
making do is by renting space to Lutheran Services in Iowa. LSI rents an office to run its parenting program and a conference room to meet with families. LSI has a rich history of ser- vice to the community that Our Sav- iour wants to support, so it makes the rent affordable at only $100 a month. “But every bit counts,” Horrell said. “It’s a great deal for LSI, but we are a gracious congregation.” LSI is grateful. “There is no other
place where we could get space to operate at this rent base,” said Crystal True, program supervisor for the LSI
‘We have to re-root the ministry in our neighborhood. Our future depends on how we get under the skin of the culture. We need to be a church that is embedded in the fabric of society.’ Ruben Duran, ELCA program director for new congregations
November 2011 25
AMY C. ELLIOTT
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