When you think of college spring break, is volunteering for church work the first thing on your mind? For Ruth Wendland, Alison Wine, Lauren Maertz and Annette Scharf, apparently, it is. Skipping the more traditional spring break locations, these four college students from Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minn., are making their way to Covington looking to be put to work. Their goal: sharing the good news about Jesus. They were sponsored by a group called Kingdom Workers and by Abiding Grace Lutheran Church.
When asked why they were making this their spring break destination, Scharf said, “We’re excited about seeing a new part of the country and getting an opportunity to share God’s word with people we’ve never met.” Wendland is looking forward to making some lasting friendships with the people she’ll be working alongside. Maertz said, “It also gives us experience and helps to build confidence in sharing our faith, which is what we’re all training to do as we prepare ourselves for the public ministry.”
The volunteers will be spending their week going door to door and making some phone calls inviting people to all the free events coming up at Abiding Grace, as well as letting the community know about the new preschool Abiding Grace is starting this fall. Pastor Jonathan Scharf said, “This March is a particularly exciting time for us at Abiding Grace as we celebrate our 10th anniversary as a congregation here in Covington with special events all month long. The Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Chorus will be presenting a concert on March 3 at 10:30 a.m. There will be a special anniversary service and banquet on March 10. March 23 brings our Easter4Kids. On March 24, we’ll have another traveling concert choir helping us celebrate — the Luther Preparatory School “Prep Singers.” And then it all culminates in our Easter celebration (Sunrise service at 7 a.m., Celebration worship at 10:30 a.m., followed by meal and Easter egg hunt) on March 31 as we celebrate why we exist as a church — because Jesus defeated death for us and is our risen Lord! The community is invited to every one of these events, and they are all free.”
Pastor Scharf encourages all readers to find out more about Abiding Grace or any of these programs at abidinggrace.com or by calling 770-385-7691.
