Two Lutheran churches and congregations share the same pastor and have found a stronger sense of community through working together.
The Spirit of Life Ministry is a ministry shared by Abundant Life Lutheran Church and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.
“So this partnership has been going on for several years, five or six in fact,” says Pastor Jeremy Langner. “It all started with a need that both congregations recognized to partner in partnership with someone else. They hoped to share a pastor and resources together.”
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada organized a regional gathering and it was there that the two churches met and began to talk about this shared ministry.
“They called me at the end of 2019 and we started working on a new, more formal arrangement to partner with each other. In that, we started dreaming up a new vision of who we are together. C That’s when we came up with the name Spirit of Life Ministry to describe who we are together.”
The two congregations still meet separately in their own buildings, one in East St. Paul and the other in Winnipeg.
“We’re collaborating and doing more things together. Especially during this pandemic, we’ve been making decisions together, doing alternate worship, and it’s been great to have a partner in these tough times.”
As of March 2020, the services are online and livestreamed. Pastor Langner says he hopes to have in-person services soon.
“The pandemic brought us together in a new way because all of a sudden place didn’t matter as much. It didn’t matter where you were because anyone could join. Congregations learned get to know each other a little better and it’s built a stronger sense of community.”
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