A New Vision

When Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church burned down, only the baptismal font – a gift of the first confirmation class - survived. For the next 90 years the congregation gathered around and baptized in that marble font in their new Harry Jones designed building, at the corner of Columbus Avenue and 25th Street.

In November 2008 Messiah and that almost 100-year-old font will migrate once again - one block - into the Center for Changing Lives now being built on Park Avenue. The new $27 million center will bring together, in one building, an array of entities serving the Phillips neighborhood of South Minneapolis. Messiah will gather and minister in intentional community with Lutheran Social Services, Phillips West Neighborhood Organization, Kaleidoscope (an after school and summer school program for children) as well as other Faith in the City efforts including the Personal Finance Center and the Wellness Connection.

According to Rev. Lee Cunningham, Pastor/Redeveloper at Messiah, the organization’s hope is that this unique arrangement will affect everyone who walks in the door, “Employees and staff will have their understanding of their own missions transformed and see those who they encounter in new ways. Volunteers and supporters will be changed and
engaged. Individuals and families with challenges and needs will find sanctuary, trust, respect and encouragement –
new hope and real possibilities. Any who believes that it is simply a matter of helping people who can't help
themselves will not be effective participants in the Center for Changing Lives.”

Rich Olson, Outreach Coordinator for Messiah, sees practical benefits to the shared quarters of the Center. “There are many service agencies around here that do a lot of good,” Olson said. “That is beneficial for the people who are able to take advantage of the services. But many of the people we see are people who slip through the cracks or wash out of programs. What we do involves not so much sending them to places for assistance, but walking with them.”

It is believed that with many services under one roof, along with numerous other collaborations, community members, who struggle, can be more effectively guided and encouraged.  The Center for Changing Lives will be an opportunity for many to serve and be served, to grow and be challenged and will be a catalyst for partnering
and community building.