One year ago, at the start of Advent, youths from the church I serve, Christ and Trinity Lutheran, and members of the congregation traveled to Joplin to present a gift to the congregation of Peace Lutheran Church. Six months earlier, our congregation did not have a relationship with Peace Lutheran other than being a part of the larger body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Now, one year and six months later, we are a community. A community gathered by Jesus to be hope for the world. A community that prays for one another. A community that knows that love comes from unexpected places. A community that believes in life after death.
The story has defined the youths of Christ and Trinity who went to Joplin following the tornado that devastated the town and destroyed the building of Peace Lutheran. They took prayerful time at the site of Peace Lutheran among the debris. They saw hope. They saw pieces of stained glass. They were compelled to do something. A cross emerged from the pieces of broken stained glass. A cross created from a commitment to bring hope to a community devastated by loss.
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