Tag Archive for: local

Taking Flight with the Force in 2024

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Happy New Year, LCR Community, as we welcome 2024!! I have just had the wonderful experience of spending a week with my 4 grandchildren (who had not been together in the same space since 2019 – pre-Covid and minus one grandchild).

 

During that week, as I watched the building of Star Wars Lego sets, I was reminded of the storyline of the Star Wars movie and the wonder, belief, and hope in the “force” who directed the vision of justice, kindness to all persons, and truth. I’ve always thought there were similarities between the “force” and the Holy Spirit … God’s power at work within us. I believe there is a force (God’s Spirit) that is leading LCR into 2024 and I believe this is a year that will see LCR take flight.

At the beginning of 2023, we were embracing the Appreciative Inquiry exercise to reimagine LCR’s mission and vision as we began the call process for a new pastor. As we enter 2024, LCR continues to embrace its mission to serve others and each other under Bridge Pastor Bonnie Lanyi as we await, with anticipation, the arrival Pastor Rich Leseganich on January 25th.

In the meantime, the Church Council is engaged in an assessment of LCR’s current needs and goals for the future of the Church. The areas of consideration are wide-spread and include, under no particular order, faith formation opportunities for children, youth, and adults on multiple levels, the physical appearance and external messaging to enhance LCR’s visibility in the community, the continued improvement of the quality of musical offerings, including instrumentalization, needed for spiritually fulfilling experiences at both the 8:30 and 11:00 services, the physical infrastructure of LCR’s facilities, the continued heightened communication efforts internally and externally, etc.

I sincerely believe that the year-long anticipation of 2023 has prepared LCR for 2024, ready to take flight and spread the vision, mission, and hope of LCR’s commitment to serve East Cobb, Marietta, Sandy Springs, and extended community areas beyond the Atlanta area that LCR serves, and to welcome all join us in joyful worship.

I am so looking forward to sharing this incredible opportunity with all of you. It will be an incredible experience of wonder, belief, and hope.

Meet our new Bridge Pastor, Rev. Bonnie Lanyi

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After Pastor Ruth’s retirement a bridge pastor was appointed to help in the time until Pastor Rich arrives in late January 2024. Here is a short note from Pastor Bonnie:

I’m so looking forward to serving with you as you transition to your new pastor. This is a brief introduction to let you know a little bit about me. I am a baptized child of God, who is so grateful to God for many blessings. One blessing that I am especially grateful for is that I grew up in a family and in churches that taught the love and grace of God are for all. Each and every person has value and should be treated with respect and dignity.

Another special blessing is that I have been married to my best friend, David for 37 years. He graduated from Walton High School, and I graduated from Wheeler. We have three young adult children. Our first grandbaby is due to be born this spring. We love to hike, travel, read, cook and bake.

After graduating from Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Science degree, I worked as an RN in hospitals and in the church. Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) was completed under the supervision of The Reverend Dr. Martha Rutland. After graduating from Luther Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree, I was ordained as an ELCA pastor and called to serve a small congregation as a solo pastor. Several years later, I served a large congregation as an associate pastor.

Most recently, I served as the Interim Pastor at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Douglasville for a year and a half as they prepared to call Pastor Jamie Witt. I completed the Interim Ministry Training from the Interim Ministry Network. It is an honor to accompany a congregation in times of transition.

That is a little snapshot of my story. I look forward to getting to know you and your story…starting with some time on December 6 at 6:00 pm during our Advent Dinner in the Gathering Room.

Pastor Bonnie Esther Lanyi

New home owners and builders in front of a Habitat house

Dedicated to Building: Habitat for Humanity

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Written by: John Osberg

The Lutheran Coalition for Habitat was founded in 1993 and currently is comprised of 11 north Atlanta Lutheran churches. We just completed the Lutheran Coalition’s 37th Habitat for Humanity house. LCR has been a contributor to all of them. Through the Coalition’s fund-raising efforts (which is primarily our “Taste of Habitat” gala which will be held again this fall on Friday, September 22), we were able to donate more than $35,000, which is ¼ of the total cost of building this house.

But we do so much more than just fund. Our volunteers build. We do much of the house’s framing, we put on the siding, we paint, we landscape and much, much more. We are already preparing for this year’s 2nd house. Again, we will offer volunteers the opportunity to build a Habitat house, this time we will be closer, in Marietta.

Over the years, hundreds of Lutheran Coalition volunteers, including more than 40 LCR members, have donated thousands of hours building houses for truly deserving families. Each family was carefully chosen to be a Habitat for Humanity homeowner.

I personally choose to serve this ministry because I have seen so many truly good people get a safe, secure, and high-quality home that I helped build for them. Many times, I have worked alongside the homeowner. Being a part of the team that fulfills such a fundamental homeownership dream, one that so many of them were afraid to dream, is a truly incredible, personally empowering, ministry opportunity.

Want to volunteer with Habitat? Contact John Osberg.

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