New adventures, shared ministry, and the Spirit at work

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New year, new adventures, timeless faith

As we come back together from the places and spaces, adventures, and rest of the holiday season, your pastoral and council team are excited for the blessing of working together in faith and service to the community. As we begin a new year, we want to share a few important updates to help keep our community of love and witness connected and moving forward together.

First, we celebrate with deep gratitude the success of our Fall Stewardship Campaign. Because of your generous pledges, we will fully fund the three Signature Ministries our congregation discerned for 2026. These include expanding the Food Pantry and its services, establishing a Creation Care Team and growing our awareness, education, and advocacy, and investing in racial justice through expanded partnerships with diverse cultural communities and organizations uplifting those voices across Sussex County. Thank you for responding so faithfully to God’s call. Opportunities to participate in this meaningful work will be shared soon.

We are also excited to share that the Re-imagine Team has reconvened after a brief pause during pastoral transition and Advent. This team is exploring ways to support the Food Pantry expansion, better utilize our building for new programs, and enhance our worship space for comfort and flexibility. These conversations include making room for film nights, speaker events, and concerts. If you would like to join the Re-imagine Team, please contact Pastor Carla or Council President Mari Satterlee or Vice President Deb Wittle. Your ideas and energy are welcome and needed.

We also want you to know that we hear you. Over the past three months, several members have shared with council and Pastor Carla the possibility of combining our two Sunday services into one. Reasons offered include better support for volunteer-based ministries, more efficient use of staff time and resources, and deeper fellowship among members who do not often connect across separate services. After thoughtful discussion, the council approved moving toward one Sunday morning service, while also creating space for evening and midweek gatherings and the possibility of Sunday school. Before making this change, we want to hear from you. Please email Pastor Carla this week with your thoughts on what time would work best for a single Sunday morning service.

Finally, we share joyful news from the wider church. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has officially approved Community Lutheran’s application to serve as the anchor congregation for a New Start ministry. Following ELCA guidelines, Pastor Karis will continue outreach during the three to six month exploration phase through one on one conversations, listening sessions, and community engagement. Small group Fresh Expression gatherings will follow, focusing on people our Frankford community finds challenging to reach, including those living farther across Sussex County, youth and young adults, and those who carry church hurt or distrust of traditional church spaces.

To learn more, we encourage you to watch Pastor Karis’s sermon from Dec. 28, 2025, which celebrates the growth already happening and the Spirit’s movement in what comes next for Community Lutheran in the field.

In solidarity, love, hope, and trust that the Holy Spirit is working in us, around us, and through us,
Pastor Carla

Community T-shirt orders now open

Back by popular request, it is Community Lutheran Church T-shirt time. Let’s get ready for outreach, tabling, Pride, and selfie season.

Please indicate how many of each size you would like and place your order form in the offering plate or email your order to pastorcarla@bridgebuilder.church by Feb. 8, 2026.

T-shirts are $20 each. Anyone who would like a shirt will receive one, regardless of ability to pay. Please indicate your preferred payment option.

Payment options include cash or check, electronic payment through Vanco, or gifting a shirt.

Support our local veterans

Community Lutheran is partnering with the VA Homeless Coordinator to collect much needed supplies for veterans experiencing homelessness. We are requesting new items only, not gently worn or previously used items.

Please bring donations between Jan. 1 and Feb. 1 and place them in the donation box located in the narthex.

Needed items include:

• Hand warmers
• Gloves
• Quilts
• Tents
• Sleeping bags
• Winter hats
• Body wipes
• Toiletry kits
• First aid kits

Together, we can provide warmth, dignity, and hope to those who have given so much in service to our country.

Group Spiritual Direction; Intention Setting & Discernment for Healing and Growing in the New Year

Our ministry is always moving through worship, service, and care. Here’s what’s coming up at Community:

• January 18: Special music with Diana Wagner during worship.
• January 25: One service for new member worship at 10:30 a.m., installation of new church council, and orientation at noon.
• January 28: Pastor Earl will lead a 7-week book study – Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm by Dr. Robin via Zoom from 6-7:30 p.m. Watch for the link soon.

Council Highlights

Your officers for this year are Mari Satterlee, president; Deb Wittle, vice president; and Lonnie Riley, secretary.

Appointed positions for this year are David Nilsson, treasurer; and Carol Walton, financial secretary.

An immediate priority is to look at our tech system so that our broadcasts can be seen without glitches.  Also, tech team needs to have better communication with the sanctuary.

We need volunteers for greeters. During the next month council members will sign up to be greeters.

Due to the strain on volunteers and staff and not getting to know all members we discussed going to one service. If you are not in attendance for church on January 18^th, please watch the service for further information.

Pastor Karis has been busy in the Lewes, Milton and Rehoboth area. She has found that there is a need for a presence in that area but it needs to be a less formal type of gathering. We are receiving mission money, which means there has to be a three-to-six-month exploration as to the need and cultivation of partnerships. During this time current members are not involved.

As of February, we will end our connection with Hook and be responsible for our website, newsletter, and social media.

Friendly reminder: Updated contact emails

Please double-check the email address you’re using when reaching out to Community Lutheran staff. All accounts are now working correctly.

Contacts:

• Pastor Carla — pastorcarla@bridgebuilder.church
• Pastor Karis — pastor@bridgebuilder.church
• Mari Satterlee — president@bridgebuilder.church
• David Nilsson, Treasurer — treasurer@bridgebuilder.church
• Morgana Wilkes, Technology Support —  tech.clc.30897@gmail.com

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