| A
sense of belonging
By Travis Hansen
"Jesus is 'Crazy in Love' with
you," said the Pastor of the Prince of Peace Lutheran
church, just months after moving her congregation into
their new church home.
Rev. Corinne Thul, radiant with enthusiasm
and love for God and His creatures, has been at the
Prince of Peace church in Logan since 2005.
The church started with a few members
in 1997, and has blossomed into an average of 80-90
each week, excluding ski and summer seasons that tend
to be lower.
The congregation moved into their
new building on the west side of Logan on February 8
and had a dedicatory service on February 22, in which
members, visitors, and even a couple LDS bishops attended.
"We have a home now, something
that we can be identified by," said Thul. "We have a
sense of belonging."
The Prince of Peace church belongs
to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
and their fundamental belief is that 'we are all saved
by the grace of God.'
They base their beliefs off the teachings
of Martin Luther, although he never started the church
himself.
A liturgical service takes place
each Sunday, beginning with a 'Kyrie' (keer-e-a), which
is a sung prayer, and is followed by songs of praise,
readings from the bible and a sermon.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, has the highest population of members here in
the valley, but second to them is what Thul calls the
"un-churched."
"We are trying to reach out
and find them, recruiting new members is one of the
hardest challenges we face," she said.
The members are service oriented,
they go on mission trips and try to provide any local
assistance they can.
The youth and their leaders are traveling
to Louisiana this summer to help the continued effort
for the people of New Orleans.
"It is great ways for the kids
to be more compassionate to others and to be grateful
for the things they have," said their youth director,
Kathy Scott.
Their mission trips have included
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver, South
Dakota, and the Wind Rivers reservation in Montana.
"We teach our kids to look
at things positively, and accept differences in other
people without having to live that way," Scott said.
Scott has been a Lutheran her whole
life, she was baptized as an infant, confirmed after
two years of orientation and has lived amongst LDS people
most of her life.
When asked if living around LDS influences
has taught her anything, she sat back, tilted her head
forward with her hands clenched in front of her mouth,
and uttered the words 'tolerance and acceptance.'
"It helps me talk about my
faith a little more," she said, "because otherwise people
just assume that I am LDS.
"Our Latter-day Saint friends
have been supportive of us though, we go to their baptisms
and special meetings, and they come to ours," Scott
said.
What does it take to become a Lutheran?
You must first be baptized in a Christian
church, however if you are coming from the LDS church,
you would have to be re-baptized.
Then you would take some new members
classes to gain a basic understanding of what it means
to be a Lutheran.
Finally, they would have a 'reception
of new members' during a service where they go over
the 'Apostle's Creed' and have the members vote on whether
or not to accept you as a new member.
Everything in the church comes before
the congregation for a democratic vote, including the
choosing of a Pastor.
To become a minister one must have
a four-year degree, and then attend seminary to obtain
a Master in Divinity that takes another four years.
Once a congregation chooses a minister,
they become a Pastor.
The ELCA have not always allowed
women to be a pastor, in 1970, they ordained women to
preach, and this summer they will vote on whether or
not to allow ministers from 'same sex committed relationships.'
To find out more about the Prince
of Peace church you can visit their website. http://home.comcast.net/~princeofpeaceloganx/index.htm
AH
AH
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