A Net

Dana* is compassionate, funny, and thoughtful. She and her family were active members in a congregation where she and her husband were married and her children were baptized.

Despite being active in the church, Dana found herself continually pouring from an empty cup. She found support through the church’s pastor but lacked the holistic support she needed from the congregation. “We felt like unpaid staff,” she shared. “We also felt alone.”

Back in Dana’s neighborhood, her family was building connections to their neighborhood Lutheran Church. Jill, their daughter, was participating in Vacation Bible School, and Grady, her husband, began taking their son Jacob to the Lutheran church’s weekly Baby Music classes. Then one of their friends invited them to worship there.

The welcome and support her whole family received through the community was an “aha moment” for Dana. In this new community, she found a place to give of herself while receiving abundant love and support.  Time and time again Dana’s family has had things to mourn, including significant mental health crises, and the community has continually stepped up to mourn with her, walk with her, and buoy her up.

“I wanted to be a part of a community with friends,” she shared. “What we got was friends and a net under our family. We have people who are willing to listen to us when it feels like ‘surely you want to be done listening to us.’ Their love is deep enough that we can’t wear it out, just like God’s love is deep enough that we can’t wear it out.”

Dana and her family experienced a life-giving community through her neighborhood’s Lutheran Church. The generosity of the congregation continues to make this community possible and provides its members the opportunity to embody God’s promise of always being with us.  

*All names, including the town and church names, were changed to protect privacy.