{"id":7780,"date":"2024-05-21T15:35:22","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T15:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/?p=7780"},"modified":"2025-08-13T20:33:40","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T20:33:40","slug":"how-is-your-congregation-innovating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2024\/05\/21\/how-is-your-congregation-innovating\/","title":{"rendered":"How is your congregation innovating?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We asked the Luther Seminary community how congregations they\u2019re involved with have tried something new or creative that led to new insights for ministry. Here are some of their photos and responses. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2>The Hearth, Orlando, Florida<\/h2>\n<p>Hearth Church is a \u201cchurch outside of church.\u201d It is a missional congregation focused on reaching individuals who have experienced religious trauma. We meet in bars and breweries in order to bring church to the people, particularly people who feel uncomfortable in a traditional church space. We have two community partners\u2014a brewery and a small dive bar\u2014where we hold services twice a week. These partnerships allow us to use the space for free. In turn, we support these local businesses and partner with them on community fellowship and ministry-fundraising events.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2014Kaylee Vance \u201927 M.Div.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-7780 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-full'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/CorrectedInnovating-The-Hearth-1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/CorrectedInnovating-The-Hearth-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"People seated in a decorated room with a stage and a large screen above.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/CorrectedInnovating-The-Hearth-1.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/CorrectedInnovating-The-Hearth-1-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/CorrectedInnovating-The-Hearth-2.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/CorrectedInnovating-The-Hearth-2.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Three people smiling and posing at a festive gathering.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/CorrectedInnovating-The-Hearth-2.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/CorrectedInnovating-The-Hearth-2-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-The-Hearth-3.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-The-Hearth-3.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Indoor event with people seated facing a stage decorated with string lights and a monitor screen.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-The-Hearth-3.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-The-Hearth-3-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Pilgrim Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minnesota<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Congregations are utilizing new technologies for the hearing impaired to enhance the worship experience. Worship participants receive assistance with downloading phone apps, logging into Wi-Fi, and accessing bluetooth links\u2014all of which make it possible to hear everything and participate more fully in worship. Congregations that have Wi-Fi and livestream their services already have some of the needed infrastructure. Anyone with a newer hearing device and a smartphone can access the signal and have sound delivered directly to them. Hearing assistance plays a tremendous role in the life of the worshiping community. Our congregation is exploring this, as the new technology seems to be significantly more effective than what has previously been available for the hearing impaired.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014<\/span><b>Russell Myers \u201985 M.Div., \u201903 D.Min.<\/b><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Saint Andrew Lutheran Church, Eden Prairie, Minnesota<\/h2>\n<p>Wiggle and Worship is for families with little kids, and it addressed concerns we had with overcrowded holiday services\u2014Christmas Eve, Ash Wednesday, and Easter. We asked parents of young children what might help their children participate and then collaborated with a movement artist to learn more about best practices for doing movement with kids in meaningful, purposeful ways. We were able to craft a worship experience with three key insights taken from these conversations:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-7785 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-St.-Andrews.jpg\" alt=\"A group of children and adults socialize in a large indoor room, engaged in lively conversations and activities.\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-St.-Andrews.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-St.-Andrews-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The physical space has to look and feel like families with kids are truly welcome\u2014wide spacing between chairs or pews to fit car seats and diaper bags, open front area with room for lots of kids near the musicians, comfortable space with quilts on the floor and low tables set with art supplies, youth volunteers to help keep kids safe and engaged (so parents can relax).<\/li>\n<li>Clear communication of welcome, purpose, and message\u2014share that movement and noise are expected and encouraged, repeat the service theme (e.g., \u201cJesus was born and the world turned upside down\u201d) and center all content on the theme.<\/li>\n<li>Shepherd the energy and movement of dozens of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers\u2014hard to define but meet kids where they are and lead them through the worship experience without shushing them. Sometimes energy is really high and other times more quiet, engaging music can help signal permission to dance, clap, jump, slow down, breathe, and sit.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>\u2014Arlene<\/strong> <strong>Flancher<\/strong>, children, youth, and family program coordinator and student advisor and <strong>Matthew<\/strong> <strong>Fleming<\/strong> <strong>\u201914<\/strong> <strong>M.Div.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Madison, Wisconsin<\/h2>\n<p>Holy Cow ministry at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Madison, Wisconsin, is a church on wheels\u2014a fully-licensed food truck that visits parks and community events throughout the area. The truck is staffed fully by volunteers, and folks pay what they can. We get to know our neighbors through the food truck, and our volunteers have countless stories of how the ministry has changed them, the church, and the community. One of our regular volunteers, Deni Naumann, shared that \u201cvolunteering with Holy Cow is a holy experience. The opportunity to show God\u2019s love through serving a meal and being welcoming to all in the community is a blessing. I\u2019ve learned so much about God\u2019s gift of outreach and what it means to love your neighbor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2014Sheryl<\/strong> <strong>Erickson<\/strong> <strong>\u201987<\/strong> <strong>M.Div.<\/strong>, <strong>Ryan<\/strong> <strong>Panzer<\/strong> <strong>\u201919<\/strong> <strong>M.A.<\/strong>, Dara Schuller-Hanson, and Rick Thomas<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-7780 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-full'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-Holy-Cow-1.JPG.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"533\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-Holy-Cow-1.JPG.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Outdoor food truck setup with tables, people, and a sign in a parking lot.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-Holy-Cow-1.JPG.jpg 533w, https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-Holy-Cow-1.JPG-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 533px) 100vw, 533px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-Holy-Cow-2.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"533\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-Holy-Cow-2.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Mobile food trailer with a person standing in front and a table with food items and informational materials.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-Holy-Cow-2.jpg 533w, https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-Holy-Cow-2-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 533px) 100vw, 533px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-Holy-Cow-3.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"532\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-Holy-Cow-3.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Food truck with tables covered in red and white checkered tablecloths. A sign reads &quot;HUNGRY?&quot;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-Holy-Cow-3.jpg 532w, https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-Holy-Cow-3-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 532px) 100vw, 532px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Rochester, Minnesota<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-7796 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-Good-Shepherd-Play-Church-225x300.jpg\" alt=\" Lemonade stand resembling a small chapel with white wood frame, yellow countertop, and text on the front.\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-Good-Shepherd-Play-Church-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/05\/Innovating-Good-Shepherd-Play-Church.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>Our \u201cplay church\u201d in the narthex is a mini replica of the altar, ambo, and baptismal font in the sanctuary. Children use the replica and their imaginations to pretend and play church. This spring the play church will be used for Sunday school lessons to teach students about the elements of worship. Sunday school students will then have an opportunity to use what they\u2019ve learned and volunteer to assist with a worship service. Our Sunday school group has also been brainstorming and visioning future ministry ideas. The class voted on which idea they would like to implement, selecting a Faith and Lemonade Stand. The stand was designed and built by a church member and painted by the Sunday school class. Each month, Sunday school student volunteers host a free lemonade stand after worship, passing out lemonade and cookies. They think of a conversation question for people to discuss while enjoying the refreshments and lead the congregation in singing to those celebrating a birthday that month.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2014Amy Mohr \u201925 M.A<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>First Lutheran Church, Columbia Heights, Minnesota<\/h2>\n<p>We are a 100+ year-old, mostly white, suburban congregation in the Twin Cities. Ten years ago we were struggling to connect with young families in a changing neighborhood demographic, so we started a racially diverse after-school program. The program has helped us grow our youth group programs and camp participation and has improved our connection to the community.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2014Nathan<\/strong><strong> Roberts \u201912 M.Div.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"border: solid 5px #CEDC00; padding: 5px; margin-top: 25px;\">\n<h2>Read more from Summer 2024<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"display: block; min-width: 24px; min-height: 24px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2024\/05\/21\/surprising-vocations\/\">Surprising vocations<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"display: block; min-width: 24px; min-height: 24px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2024\/05\/21\/theological-education-for-a-new-kind-of-leader\/\">Theological education for a new kind of leader<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"display: block; min-width: 24px; min-height: 24px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2024\/05\/21\/wonderful-delightful-complicated-surprising\/\">\u2018Wonderful, delightful, complicated, surprising\u2019<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"display: block; min-width: 24px; min-height: 24px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2024\/05\/21\/a-faithful-legacy\/\">A faithful legacy<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"display: block; min-width: 24px; min-height: 24px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2024\/05\/21\/shaping-the-global-communion\/\">Shaping the global communion<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"display: block; min-width: 24px; min-height: 24px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2024\/05\/21\/summer-2024-faculty-and-staff-notes\/\">Faculty and staff notes<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"display: block; min-width: 24px; min-height: 24px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2024\/05\/21\/summer-2024-alumni-news\/\">Alumni news\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"display: block; min-width: 24px; min-height: 24px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2024\/05\/21\/how-is-your-congregation-innovating\/\">How is your congregation innovating?\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"display: block; min-width: 24px; min-height: 24px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2024\/05\/21\/annual-lecture-series-return-to-campus\/\">Annual lecture series return to campus<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"display: block; min-width: 24px; min-height: 24px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2024\/05\/21\/explore-your-next-faithful-step-with-faithlead-membership\/\">Explore your next faithful step with Faith+Lead Membership<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"display: block; min-width: 24px; min-height: 24px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2024\/05\/21\/discernment-retreat-creates-space-for-questions\/\">Discernment retreat creates space for questions<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"display: block; min-width: 24px; min-height: 24px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2024\/05\/16\/new-admissions-website-makes-referrals-easier\/\">New admissions website makes referrals easier<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We asked the Luther Seminary community how congregations they\u2019re involved with have tried something new or creative that led to new insights for ministry. Here are some of their photos and responses. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7795,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[115],"class_list":{"0":"post-7780","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-news-and-events","9":"issue-summer-2024","10":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How is your congregation innovating? - Luther Seminary<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2024\/05\/21\/how-is-your-congregation-innovating\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How is your congregation innovating? - Luther Seminary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We asked the Luther Seminary community how congregations they\u2019re involved with have tried something new or creative that led to new insights for ministry. 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