Over the month of June, we posed a question to our social media audience every week under the hashtag #ELCAQuestionOfTheWeek, focusing on the theme of belonging.
We began this initiative to help us learn more about how ELCA members engage within and beyond their congregations, and we received nearly 1,000 responses.
Through this project, we heard many personal stories of welcome, joy and connection. Here are some of our favorites.
What is your favorite church memory?
“My favorite church memory is when my 4-year-old daughter (31 now) leaned over to me and whispered, ‘When do we go up [to the altar] and get that snack?’” —Sandy D. K.
“Standing on a dock with my now husband, watching the lights in the distance and thinking, God gifted us this love.” —John C.
“At the lowest points of my life, showing up feeling broken and alone, and leaving feeling like a weight had been lifted.” —Sarah B.
“I transitioned at church. My special memory is the first communion I took after transitioning. Being accepted just as God created me by my fellow Christians is always special to me. That first day was paramount.” —Elizabeth Jayne S.
“Standing next to my mom, lit candles in hand, singing ‘Silent Night’ on Christmas Eve, the year before she was called forever home.” —MacKenzi F-R.
“Five generations of my family have been members at my church. I love our ‘Polka Sundays.’ A polka band comes once a year and provides the music during the church service, and then, after, we have a chili dinner.” —Wendy S.
How did you know you belonged at your church? What made your church feel like home?
“When the church we had been attending started sponsoring refugees, I knew it was the place for our family.” —Gail L.
“Invitation to communion: The risen Christ dwells with us here. ALL who are hungry, ALL who are thirsty, come.” —Rita H.
“I was pregnant and feeling isolated living in a new city, looking for a church, when a group of strangers threw me a baby shower. They won me over with onesies. Then later, when the question of whether or not our congregation would welcome folks who identify as LGBTQ+ arose, they surprised me again by voting to ‘open the doors of the church,’ making it clear to me that this was a place where the Spirit and the love of God speak louder than the patriarchy.” —Laura B.
“I chose my current church because it was the closest RIC congregation AND was fully ADA accessible, even going beyond ADA requirements. These two things showed me that I was welcome and that “‘all are welcome’” wasn’t just words to the congregation.” —Jesse H.
“My 8-year-old insisted that we go back.” —Susan N.
“Good music and liturgy with excellent preaching. And it didn’t matter that I was a “‘family of one.’ There were others similarly situated, so I could feel comfortable being a single and not part of a nuclear family.” —Virginia B.
“Welcoming was spot-on. It wasn’t overwhelming but definitely caring.” —Susan G.
What did someone do to welcome you to church?
“My family moved next to my grandparents’ farm when I was 5 years old. While visiting my grandparents and exploring their farm, I found myself in a field full of thistles. Being barefoot, I just stood there crying. A car pulled up next to the field, stopped, and this tall man climbed the fence and came to my rescue and carried me up to my grandparents’ door. Lo and behold, he was the pastor of the local Lutheran church. From the following Sunday our family started attending Canaan Lutheran Church. Since I am now 76 years old, I have attended this same church for 71 years!” —Linda W. M.
“The day I visited Trinity Lutheran Church in Camp Hill [Pa.], a member of the church knocked on my door at home and gave me a loaf of bread as a gift. That bread and that member fed me for years to come. I am a Lutheran pastor today because of such a beautiful gift of hospitality.” —Robin F.
“They simply extended a hand, smiled and welcomed me to worship. I immediately felt at home. There was no push to join. They just included me. Twenty-plus years later, I’m their secretary and still love it.” —Sara M.
“Our church, Zion Lutheran Church of Pittsfield, was one of the first places that genuinely gave our family space to simply be a part of the community without expectation. This was a much-needed breath of fresh air and made a huge difference in how we came into our life in the church.” —Hannah D.
“We had just moved to a new state. Our first Sunday we visited a church where no one talked to us. The next week we went elsewhere. I needed to take my one-year-old son out of the service. A lady saw me and walked with me all the way to the nursery (on the other side of church). That is the one we went back to.” —Golda W.
How do you connect with members of other generations at church?
“I’ve taught Sunday school or been involved with youth group in the same parish for 50 years. I have so many “‘kids,’” my heart is full to bursting. Still teaching Sunday school, and I’ll be 81 in a month.” —Sandy V.
“Get out of the church. Attend the activities that are important to the kids and their families. Know their names. Show them you care about them more than their attendance record.” —Anita T. N.
“Fellowship with people my age is, of course, very important. But I have found that learning to know younger members is very rewarding. I understand more completely what they are dealing with in their lives, and I have more faith that the future is in good hands. In turn, I am hopeful that they see us older people in a different way.” —Jackie O. S.
“I am one of few young people in an older congregation. An older woman came up to me at church one day and told me, ‘When I was 23 years old, an older woman told me that it is very important to have young friends, because otherwise you’ll get to a point where you have no friends left. You are now my young friend.” Ever since then, we’ve made it a point to sit together each week. She had a bad fall, and couldn’t make it to church for awhile, and we all missed her so much. But she’s finally recovered, and it feels so good to have her back! When I’m her age, I hope to find someone to pass the role of ‘young friend’ to!” —Erin B.
“Hear their stories. Listen to their advice. Make sure they feel heard.” —Jeremy R. H.
