When the pandemic hit, it came right in the middle of our Building to Bless Capital Campaign. Like many congregations, we adapted our worship and ministries to the new reality. We worshiped remotely for that first Lenten and Easter Season, and invited the congregation into the creative process of worshipping and serving from home. People recorded prayers and reading of scripture and music from home. By June of 2020, over 140 people (76 families) had contributed to worship in some way. Snapshots from worship videos during this time were taken of everyone who participated and mosaic below was made to capture this NEW way God was at work among us, and for us, during this challenging time for all the world. This image is a sign of how the church can be hope in times of need.
The pandemic also began to invite us into using space in new ways, both indoor and outdoor spaces. When we first envisioned Building the Bless, we largely thought about indoor spaces. The pandemic invited us to take a momentary pause to evaluate our Building to Bless goals, and discern if there were ways we wished to pivot or include into the current building scope.
A team of folks were selected to serve as a master campus planning team. We wanted to look at the whole of our assets to see how they could best be put into service for God and others, with the learning of how the pandemic has changed how and where we gather. The Master Campus Plan/Vision was adopted at a special congregational meeting in June of 2021. It is meant to be more a guide than a rule, because as the pandemic taught us, the needs of the community are always changing, which means what it means to be church is always changing as we seek to follow where God leads. Numbers and amounts are rough placeholders, but at least give a guess at the scale of investment needed for a particular part of the master campus plan.
5/2023 Update: We have put a few of the master campus pieces into action. We have sold the Q/R pieces, which helped make possible the Fellowship Hall remodel we are currently are working on + remodel of A (which we now call the Treehouse) that was dedicated for service Easter of 2022 + have completed the exterior signage for the building (which has color-changing backlights to match the liturgical season!)
St. Peter's Lutheran Church 