Give ‘joy’ this season J
First, recycle a building;
second, restore Christmas By Julie B. Sevig
oy is a word used extensively at an ELCA church in Orlando, Fla. It’s not just in their name. It’s in their DNA—at least that’s what the pastor will tell you. “For 14 years I’ve concluded worship with: ‘It’s time, my friends, to share the hope and joy we have in Christ. Go now in peace, sharing the love of Jesus by serving oth- ers’ ... to which the congregation responds: ‘With a spirit of joy!’ We have become what we have been called each week to be,” said Jeffrey Linman, pastor of Spirit of Joy. Spirit of Joy appears to have left no stone unturned in transforming space and lives. After nine years of gather- ing in a school gym and cafeteria, members held a vigil in the parking lot of a closed home improvement store to pray about purchasing it for their church building. But then they saw a closed bowling alley across the street. By 2005, their vision to transform it into a church became a reality. Their motto: “Changing lanes, changing lives.” They’ll probably always be known as the “bowling alley” church. But now concession areas serve as a book- store and kitchen. The bar is the new youth room. Cubbies in the welcome center once held bowling shoes. Where people threw gutter balls and strikes is now a worship space with theater seating and state-of-the-art sound. The 34,000-square-foot building houses the homeless, pro- vides literacy tutoring and offers a creative arts program. And the congregation punctuates spring and winter with joy events. Prior to Easter, JoyFest calls the congregation to four hours of com- munity service and feasting at a pig roast. Prior to Christmas, Joy Mall offers members a break from consumerism and a chance to further their ministry. For four years, Joy Mall has been taking shape and growing. Member Steven Beumer (LMSAssoc@aol. com) is the spark plug. “Have you ever bought a Christmas present for someone who gave you a deer- in-headlights look, and you realized you’d just completely wasted your money?” he asked. “Society is over-
32 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
flowing with abundance, with people feeling they have an obligation to buy something for Uncle Bob or Aunt Susie.”
Instead, Beumer suggests members “shop” the
church’s Joy Mall: “Buy something that makes a differ- ence in somebody’s life.”
For instance, $10 buys a Christmas ham for a needy family or helps send kids to Luther Springs Camp, Haw- thorne, Fla. Because of the congregation’s relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Burundi, $10 goes toward a seminary scholarship and $25 for church land there.
Shoppers can give $5 for supplies to local schoolchil- dren or $25 to congregational families in economic need. Ten dollars buys any number of animals through ELCA World Hunger (
www.elca.org/hunger) or health kits through Lutheran World Relief (
www.lwr.org). For three Sundays prior to Christmas, Joy Mall is open for business in the church’s narthex. Gifts purchased in $10 and $25 increments add up, Beumer said, totaling about $6,000 or $7,000 since its inception. “Hey, if you’re stuck for a gift, how about giving your favorite uncle a camp scholarship?” he said. “Not for him, but for someone else? And he can tell people ‘I sent a kid to camp.’ Not a bad Christmas gift ....” Beumer makes certificates that shoppers can give away and tells stories as lively as any retailer’s sales pitch: member Gloria Alexander bought her son’s teachers rab- bits through the ELCA Global Barnyard. “Last year, right before Christmas vacation, one of the teachers said to her, “Hey, that was the coolest gift last year. Am I getting a rabbit again this year?”
Ina Wheeler (left) and Denise Beumer support the annual Joy Mall at Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, Orlando, Fla.
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