Led by scholar Robert Jefferson, people share what’s impor- tant to them during an open mic night at Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Conn. Jonathan Hevita, pastor, says the congregation’s name reflects its mul- tilingual, multicultural makeup.
‘God goes into the community’ “People are looking to us for answers,” Hevita said. So Spo- ken Word Works lets people ask the questions. It’s also the beginning of many offbeat pro- grams, such as Sunday break- fast and ministries to help the poor and hungry.
The congregation has a variety of educational pro- grams for school-aged children, seniors, college-bound single parents and teenage mothers—helping all to con- tinue learning at a high level. Members also help the community’s elderly and
their caregivers with cleaning, errands and companion- ship through “Neighbors to Neighbors,” a partnership between Lutheran Social Services of New England and local congregations. The community is taking notice. At the end of 2011,
Joseph’s Coat was approaching 50 members. Danny Kemp, 18, said the church already feels like family. “I
like that Pastor Hevita says the church doesn’t end at the walls,” he said. “God goes into the community.” And that community includes people of all religious and ethnic backgrounds. “We’re a wide smorgasbord,” said Link James, lay assistant, citing members of mostly Hispanic, African and Caribbean descent. Elizabeth Baah, a native of Ghana, and a friend of
Hevita and his wife, Gertrude, likes attending Joseph’s Coat. “I’m a member of the community who wants to help the church grow,” she said. The dozen or so congregations in the synod’s South- ern Connecticut Conference help support Joseph’s Coat. So do proceeds from the sale of St. Paul’s parsonage. Joseph’s Coat also has an ELCA mission development grant for three years, with the hope that congregational giving can pay the bills after that time. “We’re hopeful that the congregation will grow with
people who want to make a difference in the city,” Payne said. “It’s an unusual kind of beginning, reaching out to unchurched people. But Pastor Hevita knows a lot of people, and the congregation really seems to be a work- ing of the Spirit.”
through our faith LifeBalance
Reflecting on wellness
SM
8-week wellness education curriculum for congregations.
To learn more, contact Kelly Fitzgerald at 847/390-1432 or
Kelly.Fitzgerald@
LSSI.org. Visit our LifeBalance page on
LSSI.org.
is an
1001 E. Touhy Avenue, Suite 50 Des Plaines, Illinois 60018
April 2012 31
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