Today’s blog post has been commissioned by the Riverside Innovation Hub to bring in the stories and views from our partner congregations forward. We first start off with a piece by聽Kaylie Johnson, a member of the Trinity Lutheran congregation.
I didn鈥檛 fully understand what it meant to have a 鈥渃hurch without walls鈥� until I started to attend Trinity Lutheran Congregation. Part of this phrase 鈥渃hurch without walls鈥� is literal; we worship on Augsburg鈥檚 campus, and the offices are down the street on Riverside Avenue. The part that kept me intrigued and engaged in Trinity is the figurative meaning of a 鈥渃hurch without walls鈥�: A church that works outside of the church walls and seeks to be a helping and hopeful presence in the community, not only there for its congregants, but there for those who are not at Trinity on Sunday mornings. Trinity saw needs in the neighborhood, and encouraged its members to find ways to engage with the community. The Riverside Innovation Hub gave me a chance to take a leadership role in helping Trinity continue to explore what it means to be a church without walls.聽