PALMER RAPIDS– First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Palmer Rapids may be small in size but a recent major milestone for the church was cause for a big celebration on August 24.
About 80 people gathered for an afternoon of anniversary worship and time of fellowship, reflecting on 125 years of ministry and mission, since its inception in 1889.
Service leader Pastor Wayne Geick, who serves at Zion Lutheran, Augsburg, St. Luke’s Lutheran, Eganville and First Lutheran, Palmer Rapids, welcomed the full house audience.
“What a welcome sight to see this church filled with God’s people,” Geick said.
Geick asked for God’s blessing during the worship and time together on a momentous occasion marking 125 years of God’s word and sacrament.
“We rejoice to see and participate in the endless opportunities for ministry in the present and we reach out in hope and prayer, trusting the promises of God for growth and mission in the years that lie ahead,” Geick said.
Later in the service, Pastor Paul Zabel, President of Lutheran Church-Canada, East District shared a sermon based on the Book of Acts 20:32, with the theme A festive testimony to God and His word of grace.
“As the divine power reaches down into our lives it increases our faith and love and assists us in our virtues, thus we are built up by God’s word and grace,” Zabel said.
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