Grace Lutheran Church celebrates 100th anniversary with Sept. 4 service

PRESS RELEASE FROM GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH:

As Grace Lutheran Church members bring to a climax their Centennial Year Celebration, a grand service of worship and music is planned for the entire congregation on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. followed by a congregational pot-luck dinner at the church. Grace Lutheran celebrated its first service and organizational meeting of the congregation just 100 years and one day before this service on Sept. 3, 1916. The Rev. Dr. Tim Smith, Bishop of the North Carolina Synod of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), will be the guest preacher for the anniversary service. Bishop Smith said, “As Grace Lutheran Church in Hendersonville celebrates 100 years of faithful ministry, the North Carolina Synod rejoices with them as one of our strongest congregations. There are so many faithful ministries of Grace that we could lift up, but in recent years the emphasis on Latino ministry continues to be exciting. As we celebrate Grace’s past and the many faithful people who have brought us by God’s grace this far, we look for Grace to continue to move boldly into the future of ministry into which God is calling us.”

Officiating at the service will be Grace’s three pastors, the Revs. Greg Williams, Ken Langsdorf and Alfredo Oviedo. Senior Pastor Williams said, “It has been a marvelous year of remembering how God has been active within and through Grace during these first 100 years. I sense this celebration has been preparing Grace for a strong and faithful launch into the next 100 years. It is exciting to serve a congregation marking a milestone like this. It is even more exciting since Grace is so vibrant and eager to embark on the ministries God has for us in the coming century.”

In the Lutheran tradition of music being an integral part of worship, the hundredth anniversary service will include the combined Adult Choirs of Grace, Grace Praise Band, Bells of Grace handbell choir, ceremonial music by the Pyramid Brass ensemble, and guest organist, Howard Bakken. The choirs will sing the premiere of a newly commissioned anthem composed by Burton Bumgarner, Grace’s Director of Music and Organist, and well-known composer and playwright. The choirs will also sing “Vencera el amor”, a beautiful Spanish piece by Carlos Colon, a native Salvadoran and coordinator for worship initiatives in Baylor University’s Spiritual Life division. The youth of the congregation will also have an active role in the service.

Excerpts from Grace Lutheran’s written history of one hundred years ago describe the churches official beginnings when, “On Sunday morning, July 30, 1916, after an inspiring sermon by Rev. C. L. Miller of Greenville, SC, the congregation voted that it was their opinion that a Lutheran congregation should be organized in Hendersonville. The first Lord’s Supper of the Lutheran Faith was administered at this service to 25 communicants. On September 3, 1916, the Lutherans of Hendersonville met as by adjournment to complete the business organization of their congregation, adopting a constitution and electing officers. At 10:30 a.m. they assembled and heard the reading of a model constitution for congregations, and then adjourned for divine worship. The Rev. Dr. R. S. Patterson, of Charlotte, NC and Secretary of the United Synod Board of Home Missions and Church Extension, was present by invitation, and preached a wonderful sermon for the beginning of a church, from Matthew 6-33. After the service, the business meeting was resumed and fourteen area residents were enrolled as charter members of the new organization and officers were elected.” Thus began a Lutheran tradition that continues today—100 years later—at Grace Lutheran’s worship, fellowship and educational facilities at the corner of 6th Avenue West and Blythe Street in Hendersonville.

Guest preacher Bishop Tim Smith began his ministry with the NC Synod-ELCA on August 1, 2015. Bishop Smith is a native of Salisbury, N.C. and previously served as pastor of St Paul’s, Startown (1986-93), and Grace, Boone (1993-2010) in the NC Synod. Just prior to his election he served as senior pastor of Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Atlanta. He is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill (M.A.), Gettysburg Seminary (M.Div.), and Drew University (DMin.). His ministry experiences include supervising 22 full-year interns, serving as Appalachian State University campus pastor, and being a featured preacher for Day 1 radio broadcast (formerly “The Protestant Hour”). Bishop Smith and his wife, Wendy, have three grown children: Matthew and his wife, Keri; Isaac; and Ruth and her husband, Tommy.

Nursery care for children ages birth to 5 years old will be available during the service. Grace Lutheran Church is located at the corner of Sixth Avenue West and Blythe Street in Hendersonville. For further information, call 828-693-4890.