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Membership Inquiry Class

Inside Story: A Membership Inquiry Class

“The water aerobics ladies brought me here,” explains Emily, a YMCA program director.

“Our daughter drums for Jesus,” laugh Dave and Linda of their most personal connection to the Open Spirit contemporary ensemble.

“I grew up Methodist… Roman Catholic… Lutheran Church Missouri Synod… Presbyterian…”

“St. Paul is home,” says Jean, the longtime member who had brought the cookies, crackers, and cheese.

“I met my wife in the aisle at Hy-Vee. She had a friendly smile,” chimes in Bruce.

“I grew up in St. Cloud. It’s pretty close to where you lived,” says Nate, connecting immediately to Pastor Heather’s central-Minnesota roots.

Under the florescent lights of the Luther Loft, on a weekday evening, a little community takes shape. Awkward introductions give way to surprising connections. Empty folders fill up with ministry information. In a labyrinthine tour, into classrooms, up a hidden staircase, the church building begins to feel less mysterious.

This is Membership Inquiry Class, March 2010. Each month is different. Sometimes eight people show up — or 33 find their way.

They represent a panoply of denominations and experiences. “What an interesting mix,” Pastor Peter Marty observes. In this church, on this night, an electrician and a student find common ground with a chemical engineer and a teacher.

“We consider ourselves to be Lutheran Christians,” Pastor Marty tells this diverse group. He unpacks the grammar of that phrase: Christian is the noun, the stronger part. Lutheran is an adjective, describing a particular expression of Christian faith. “The foremost thing is that to be a Christian, you are a Christ-follower.”

Peter manages to craft a description of our congregation’s nature with illustrations from driving in England, classical music, a New Yorker cartoon, and acrobatics. It all boils down to this: Life isn’t always easy. There is suffering and pain. We don’t have it all together. We try to focus and find balance for our lives through the story of Jesus Christ.

“We look at the cross in the center of the church and hopefully in the center of our lives.” In the church, these newcomers may just be able to find the “tools, the worship life, and the friendships to keep life in balance.”

Together, we try to unravel the mysteries of this place. Green, yellow, and blue information fliers flutter around the table. They reveal a congregation of 3,200 people that has plenty of room for a range of perspectives on social, theological, and political issues — and “one heart in pursuing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

We discover why “English” was part of our church’s name when German immigrants drew up charter documents in 1882. Again and again, generosity bubbles to the surface. In the involvement of St. Paul people. In a budget of $1.86 million that earmarks 18% in mission outreach for people in need.

Armed with a handful of church keys, we take off on a meandering adventure of St. Paul byways. Mary Miller takes the lead switching on lights in dark corridors and unlocking doors; Peter takes up the rear, toggling off lights, locking up.

We peer out windows to neighborhood ministries and to the Memorial Garden. We take notice of tiny chairs and butterflies dangling from classroom ceilings. We find ice cream scoops in kitchen drawers. We check out the bookstore, the print room, and yes, sometimes the boiler room.

And finally, we land back in the Luther Loft around a question: “What does it mean to join a church?” It means that we’re all guests in the house of the Lord. It means that we throw our hearts in with others. It means that we worship, we serve in hundreds of ways, we give as we feel blessed.

When Emily worships, she often shares a pew with the “water aerobics ladies.” They’re the ones who issued the invitation: “Come, try our church.” And perhaps now, Emily will make St. Paul her home.

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"Teach me, Lord, to sing of your mercies. Turn my soul into a garden, where the flowers dance in the gentle breeze, praising you with their beauty." ~Teresa of Avila