by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Abounding Joy Lutheran Church, which meets in Sartell, recently hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its new church in St. Cloud.
Construction of the new facility will take place on a site at 1988 Amblewood Drive in St. Cloud just south of Sartell.
Since 2010, when it was founded, the Abounding Joy congregation has been meeting in the Boy Scout headquarters building in Sartell. Its members include people from throughout the greater St. Cloud area, including many from Sartell.
Led by Pastor Tom Wright, Abounding Joy was founded in the summer of 2010 because as Wright explained, its members wanted a church that was not too liberal and not too conservative – not too liberal in that Abounding Joy stands firm on traditional Lutheran teachings and not too conservative in that the church ordains women and steers clear of “rigid, fundamentalist Christianity,” as Wright noted. Many of the Abounding Joy congregation members are former members of Celebration Lutheran Church in Sartell. One of the reasons for starting Abounding Joy is that its founders disagreed with some Lutheran churches’ sanctioning of gay and lesbian clergy.
Abounding Joy, Wright said, is midway between too liberal and too conservative. It is, he said, “just right – solid, traditional Biblical teaching and preaching, with a spirit of fun, creativity and joy.”
Abounding Joy is a member of Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ, also known as LCMC. That organization, founded 12 years ago, now has more than 800 member churches, with most having joined in just the past few years.
Wright said LCMC is the fastest-growing Lutheran denomination in the United States.
For more information about Abounding Joy, call 320-217-8784 or visit its website at www.aboundingjoylcmc.org.
photo from Abounding Joy Facebook
Members of Abounding Joy Lutheran Church gathered recently for a groundbreaking for their new church site in St. Cloud not far from the Sartell border line. For several years, the congregation has been meeting in the Boy Scouts headquarters in Sartell.
