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 25^th Street.

Next year 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.