Members of Faith Lutheran Church, Coon Rap- ids, Minn., raise a cup of Mi Cafecito while at a plantation in San Miguel, Costa Rica. The con- gregation has formed strong bonds with the Lutheran Costa Rican Church via their mission trips there. They have strengthened that rela- tionship by selling fair trade products and serv- ing with the people of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, located in a Latino area.
the body of Christ. “There, community and church are interchangeable,” he said. “The Lutheran church in Costa Rica reaches out to the marginalized whether they’re illegal immigrants, poor, HIV or drug users. The ‘church without walls’ model is something we can learn from.”
Besides Costa Rica, Faith has three other global mis- sion areas: a partnership with St. Paul Lutheran Church, Minneapolis; a Fair Trade Market; and Caring for Creation.
St. Paul Lutheran, about 14 miles from Coon Rapids, is in the heart of a Latino area. “St. Paul provides an oppor- tunity for people at Faith who want to continue what they started in Costa Rica,” Dahlman said. “And if they’ve never gone to Costa Rica, St. Paul provides a similar envi- ronment to that of Costa Rica.”
Lowell Kutches, a retired high school teacher, has visited Costa Rica twice and enjoys continuing the experi- ence by volunteering at St. Paul. A member of Faith since 1973, Kutches recently helped build a computer lab for St. Paul’s youth. Although he admitted that he couldn’t have done it without assistance from the FROGS (Faith’s Retired Older Guys—or Geezers). Although the FROGS aren’t technically part of the global mission outreach, they do a lot of work to assist its efforts. “The group includes retired electricians and car- penters, so I’ve dragged FROGS to St. Paul to help out,” Kutches said, adding that he spends more than 20 hours a month at that congregation because “Costa Rica, the FROGS and St. Paul’s are outlets to continue both educat- ing and learning.” “The good Lord has given me energy to do this, and I’ll do it till I drop,” Kutches said. “I have a big commit- ment to help children and young people and there’s noth- ing like being a volunteer. It gives fulfillment that you’ll never get when you’re paid to do something.” Van Westrienen also volunteers at St. Paul, working
primarily with children’s programs. “When I came back from Costa Rica, I didn’t want the experience to end,” she said. “I wanted to extend it, and St. Paul has helped me do that.”
Ken Jensen, who retired
as Faith’s choir director in 2011, works in the congrega- tion’s Fair Trade Market. He and his wife, Joyce, were also part of the initial trip to Costa Rica in 2006. When they returned, they began selling fairly traded tea, choco- late, olive oil, coffee and other products. “During our 2010 trip, the place we stayed was look- ing for a fair trade coffee outlet,” Jensen said. Soon they added Costa Rican coffee to the products they sell once or twice a month at Faith. “It’s good stuff. To watch the Lutheran church in Costa Rica work …,” Jensen paused before continuing. “They don’t have buildings or congregations. They don’t have services or members, but they’re ministering to the poor and the disenfranchised. Our trips take us to places that no tourist would ever dream existed, like a landfill that countless illegal immigrants from Nicaragua call home.”
Many lessons are learned from the Lutheran Costa Rican Church, and caring for creation is paramount. Last May, a Caring for Creation emphasis at Faith included an adult forum, demonstration garden plots, and information about rain barrels and composting.
“Creation and environment are identical words for [the people of Costa Rica] and Costa Rica is unsurpassed in ecological efforts,” Jensen said. “The climate change is really affecting them. One person told us that there’s rain coming at the wrong times—or not coming when it should. Any small way people can watch what their foot- print is on the world will help.” Added Solberg, “Every mission experience changes
us. As we’re coming back to our comfortable lives, it starts to wear off. So I like to have that again, and be convicted again as to how we are to live. The congrega- tion is vicariously changed by hearing our stories, even if they haven’t had a chance to go to Costa Rica, and we all experience a renewed sense of call into all areas of our lives.” M
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