Looking Forward to Give to the Max Day!
We sure are getting excited for one of the largest online giving events of the year, Give to the Max Day on Thurs., Nov. 14! To look forward to this day full of generosity and giving, hear from a few of our students and alumni on what makes LCM-TC such a special and needed community on campus and how your support makes this ministry happen. Early giving has already begun! Visit our Give to the Max Day profile to give from now through Thurs., Nov. 14.
Wotz started coming to pause student worship after seeing an invitation written in chalk on campus and has been involved since! He was born in California, was raised in Chile, has traveled through Canada and a bit of the United States, and finally, is in Minneapolis, his “new home.”
“The first time I went to LCM, I was expecting something different, something more “traditional,” like when I attended my old church in Chile. But this environment was different, more alive, more interactive and I truly felt that I was part of it, not just a simple attendee. What kept me motivated to go every week were the sermons that Pastor Kate would preach to us, and somehow, someway, week after week, I felt related to the topics: new beginnings, struggling, sacrifices, all of them in the context of my new life here in Minneapolis.”
Stephanie, an LCM Alum, is an Academic Advisor at Rainy River Community College in International Falls, MN and a member of Littlefork Lutheran Church. She enjoys spending time on Rainy Lake with her husband, Calvin, and children, Van and Max.
Reflecting on her time in LCM, some of her most vivid and fond memories are from the service learning trips to Mobile, AL and New York City, and Tuesday Soup, where students could share a meal, support one another, and feel comfortable to ask questions about life and faith. “So many people gave to LCM when I was a student so that we could have these experiences,” Stephanie said. “From our spring break trips to our weekly soup meal, and so many other things – I have a lot of gratitude for my experiences at LCM and that’s the reason I give back now.”
James, an LCM student leader and Junior studying Cell Biology, enjoys learning, reading, writing, watching sports, and hanging out with his friends. James also hopes to do research and practice medicine someday, and is currently heavily invested in his fantasy football season!
For James, the “spirit of curiosity” is at the heart of LCM, whether that takes place through our student small groups we call “huddles,” worship, or service learning. “My first huddle was a fantastic experience! I learned what it meant to see God in the world. We didn’t always have clear answers, but thinking about it was revealing enough.”
As for the future church, he thinks it will look a lot like LCM: people from all over the religious spectrum gathering, praying, and exploring God together. “I think LCM is what surviving churches will look like in 20 years…LCM is proof that you don’t have to shuffle people into rigid ideas, to all be the same, to share God’s love in the world.”