Lutherans coming together - eventually

It's hard for anyone to acknowledge their current operations aren't working. For churches, it can be especially painful.

But two Missouri Synod Lutheran churches in Shreveport decided they might be stronger together than continuing to operate alone. Our Savior on Bert Kouns and Redeemer on Shreveport-Barksdale have already been sharing a pastor for about a year, so combining programs, congregations and eventually buildings wasn't much of a leap, said the Rev. Perry Culver, pastor.

"What it came down to was with me preaching at both churches, and the talk of not having enough resources, we realized it doesn’t have to be this way," he said.

They'll be able to eliminate some duplication in committees and councils and some of those folks can put their energies to outreach and growth. Together, the churches would have a congregation of about 250.

The next step is to choose a name and develop a mission statement. Then they'll start thinking about property. The plan is to sell the current buildings and build new -- probably in Southeast Shreveport.

For now, the congregations will continue to worship separately, although Culver expects some church mixers and combining some programs. When one of the buildings is sold, they will combine worship.

It takes a lot of guts to make these moves, and I know it’s hard for founding members to abandon a building they poured so much life into. But Culver said he's got great reactions from members.

"Everyday I get calls about names," he said. "People want to get involved where maybe haven’t been involved in the past."

Celebrating 25 years in Blanchard

First Baptist Church in Blanchard celebrated a rare milestone over the weekend - the Rev. James Hill has been pastor for 25 years.

We do have several pastors in the area that have served their churches for decades, but in general, pastors tend to move fairly frequently to bigger churches or new opportunities. Unfortunately, in the craziness that was last week, I left out the notice of the service in the religion briefs. The church historian was kind enough to send a list of Hill's accomplishments, so I hope to recognize him in this space.

Hill came to the church in 1983, and started a campaign to pay off the church debt. That began a series of building projects resulting in a remodeled sanctuary, education building, recreation complex, and in 2003 a new sanctuary. The church also launched new efforts to reach children through children's worship and a child development center.

All the efforts are reflected in church growth. Membership now stands at 1211, and requires two worship services on Sundays. Hill also added four full-time staff positions.

Under his leadership, the church has fearlessly promoted its beliefs in public. In Januaries past, the church has erected white crosses representing abortions conducted. In 2005, it erected a 6-foot-tall, 2-ton monument of the 10 Commandments during the height of the controversy over public displays of the Biblical laws. Hill conducted a 10-week sermon series to go with it.

Hill also presided over tragedy in the church. In 2003, Julian Brandon, minister of senior adults, was murdered. Brandon was remembered during the dedication of the new sanctuary, and at that time Hill told me: "We learned to depend on (God) and love each other," he said. "I wouldn't wish this on anybody, but it helped us draw closer to the Lord that we would have otherwise."

Clearly, his congregation feels close to him as well. Congratulations to Rev. Hill, and apologies for not recognizing the achievement sooner.

Photo: Hill with 370 crosses in front of his church in 1998. Each represented 100,000 abortions. From Times archives

Happy New Year!

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown today.

My story, which runs tomorrow, looks at the demographics and the future of the Jewish community in Shreveport. It was a hard, sad story to write. The Jewish congregations are vital, spiritual places and members are active in the wider community, and I wanted to make that clear. In fact, I was floored when I heard there are only 400 Jews in Shreveport - I knew it was a small group, but I didn't think it was that small. But the reality of the numbers means they might not be able to maintain their facilities and structures for very long. Read it - let me know what you think could be done.

With that said, the story doesn't discuss the particulars of the holiday very much, so I thought I would add some of that here. Rosh Hashanah begins 10 days of reflection and repentance leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement on Sept. 22. They are explicitly mentioned in the Bible (Leviticus 23:23-32) and are the most important holidays in the calendar. The period is commonly referred to as the High Holy Days.

The holiday begins festively, with apples and honey being one of the preferred foods to symbolize a sweet New Year. Services are characterized by the blowing of the shofar, or rams horn. The shofar calls to mind the Kingship of God and his eventual judgement of people.

To all my Jewish friends, I wish you many blessings.

Photo: Rabbi Foster Kawaler, of Congregation Agudath Achim, blows a shofar. Times file photo

Orthodox rising

Visiting St. George Greek Orthodox Church is a full sensory worship experience.

Incense hangs heavy in the air filling your nostrils and clouding your eyes. Icons with pictures of saints and scenes from the Bible remind you of the purpose of this place and engage your mind with their stories. Congregational prayers and chants delight the ears and elicit response from the parishioners. Gestures and postures (crossing oneself, bowing, standing, kneeling) keep the body active and connected with the rhythm of worship.

It's easy to see why people have fallen in love with the worship, and the church has doubled in size in three years. My reporting led me to some fascinating folks, who have really prayed and studied to find this new church home. Jason Foster had even made a career out of their Southern Baptist faith.

Converting to Orthodoxy meant he and his wife had to ask themselves some hard questions and grapple with issues of salvation theology, Mary, the saints, the Eucharist. That's not easy stuff to understand, and it was compounded with negative reactions from some friends who just didn't understand. "They think we worship Mary and worship icons," Ashley said. Of course, neither of those things is true, and they're hard to explain if people don't want to hear it.

The Fosters stay confident because they have studied. They are also thankful for their Protestant upbringing and its high view of Scripture that has informed their belief. Talking to them made me wonder if I would be willing to face that kind of criticism for my faith.

Have you ever faced those sorts of criticisms? How do you handle it?

Photo: Sunday liturgy at St. George. Shane Bevel/The Times