This web site This web site traces the course of a consolidtion of three churches in Minneapolis into the Northeast Community Lutheran Church, starting from early 2006 until the first worship service on May 7, 2007. During the process the site was used as a communications tool for the member of the three churches. Now it is available as a resource for other churches that are thinking about consolidation. Another excellent resourse is www.churchcollaboration.com, which has general information about ways that churches can partner together. Both sites were developed by David Raymond of ChurchFuture. Raymond served as the facilitator/consultant to this consolidation and other church collaborations. Consolidation Creates a New Congregation: Northeast Community Lutheran Church During the second half of 2005 St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Northeast Minneapolis engaged in congregation-wide visioning to plan for its future. St. Paul's was a smaller but healthy church located in Northeast Minneapols. The vision that emerged called for the church to be a "magnet to the community". St. Paul's wanted to be more effective in serving the community and attracting more new families and individuals. One plank in St. Paul's strategic plan called for the church to nurture partnerships with other churches as a way to expand resources for ministy. In January, 2006 three lay leaders from St. Paul's met with lay leaders from two nearby ELCA churches, Holy Triune and Emanual, in a neighborhood coffee shop to talk about working together in one form or another. The leaders of both Emanuel and Holy Triune shared St. Paul's objectives and were interested in cooperation. The three churches held a joint meeting for all members in late February, 2006. That spring Emanual and Holy Triune engaged in their own visioning processes identical to the "Town Hall Meeting" process that St. Paul used the preceeding fall. The results showed a shared vision for outreach in all three churches. In June the three churches formed a Joint Exploration Team ("JET") with four representatives from each church. The pastors also participated in this process. JET's charge was to explore the pros and cons of consolidation. Consolidation is defined as 2 or more churches that dissolve to form a completely new congregation. David Raymond from ChurchFuture, who had worked with St. Paul's in its planning process, was engaged as a facilitator. JET met every two weeks during the summer, and in September it recommended that the churches vote to proceed with consolidation. This site describes the rest of the journey to consolidation and the formation of Northeast Community Lutheran Church on May 6, 2007. These steps are traced on the Background Information page. The consultant and facilitator for the consolidation process was David Raymond from ChurchFuture. More information about Mr. Raymond and his work is at www.ChurchFuture.com. This web site was a major communications vehicle during the consolidation process. Many members checked the site regularly to see the minutes of meetings and other information. The site is now maintained as a resource for other churches that may be considering consolidation. The entire site and its contents are Copyright 2007 by ChurchFuture with all rights reserved. Permission for non-commercial use will be freely granted. You can use the form on the Contact Us page to request permission. |
First Worship on May 6. 2007
The first service of the new Northeast Community Lutheran Church started with a blessing of the church building. Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak brought his greetings and encouragement. The choir sang two beautiful anthams, and Pastor Ken DeFor preached a stirring sermon on the mission of this new congregation. One of the texts was Revelation 21:5, "See, I am making all things new." Marilynn Pavlak invited members to join the Outreach Team to help with the Community Dinners, Vacation Bible School, Walking Club and other efforts to reach and serve the community.After worship people gathered in the fellowship hall for coffee, cake, ice cream and treats.
Address: 697 13th Avenue Northeast
Minneapolis, MN 55413-1496
Phone: 612-788-2444
Fax: 612-788-2777
Web address: www.neclchurch.org
Worship at Northeast Community Lutheran Church on October 28, 2007. 
The photo to the right shows one entrance to the sanctuary (red door), the education wing, and Northeast Community Lutheran Church's bus. The red brick building behind the education wing is part of Elim Baptist Church.
Media In December, 2006 two local newspapers published major articles about the new Northeast congregation. The consolidation was on the front page of the Northeaster and on page 3 of Metro Lutheran. The January issue of Metro Lutheran had a follow-up article about the temporary site voting. You can see these articles by clicking on News Stories Part 1, or use the button to the far left. In March the Northeaster has a photo and story about Mercy Seat at St. Paul's. The April, 2007 issue of Mpls.-St. Paul Magazine has a long article about buildings and architecture in Northeast Minneapolis, with great photos of Emanuel and references to two of Holy Triune's predicessors. See News Stories Part 2 to learn more.
Permanent Facility Planning
A new team is hard at work exploring criteria and options for a permanent home for the new congregation. Information about the team and a report on a facility listening session held on February 28 are on the Facility Planning page.
Three Quilting Circles Make a New Banner for the New Church Quilters at Emanuel, Holy Triune and St. Paul's created a banner that is displayed at the front of Northeast Community Lutheran Church. The banner was designed by Pastor Evelyn Dahlke.
See the "Quilters" page for more photos.
Scripture from Pastor Craig's Last St. Paul's Newsletter:
"Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
' Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel.'"
Luke 2: 25-32 (Revised Standard Version)