Pastor Mark Kohl of Cloquet’s Our Redeemer Church and Geogianna Messenbring share a laugh during a break in the work at the Life in Christ Lutheran Church.
While a great majority of the county residents and visitors were enjoying one form of recreational activity or another on Saturday, June 23, a group of kids and older folks from Esko, Cloquet and Cook County were busy as beavers working on the Life in Christ Lutheran Church grounds and three buildings.
And while they were working hard, they had smiles on their faces and friendly banter going on between them.
Weeds were whacked. Lawns were mowed. Brush was cut. Sidewalks uncovered and edged. Windows replaced. Wiring put in. A new furnace was installed. Paint was scraped and paint was added. All in all, a lot was accomplished in the two days of labor. Plus, the group had some fun.
“We went mini golfing at Putt N’ Pets and let me tell you, that’s one of the finest mini golfing experiences that I have ever had,” said Pastor Mathew Kohl of Our Redeemer Church in Cloquet. “The owner obviously takes great pride in his business and makes it a family fun experience.”
Two Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod Churches that belong to the Minnesota North District came to help on Friday and Saturday. They assisted with a wide range of projects as efforts continue to remake the former five-acre Pie Place grounds into a church complete with a separate pastor’s house and an outbuilding for storage.
Pastor Kohl brought seven kids ages 12-16, as well as some adults while St. Mathew’s church from Esko sent 10-12 adult helpers who came with a wide range of needed skills.
“This is the fourth time we have come to help out in the last few years,” said Darlene Eng of St. Mathews. “We have people here who are really good at plumbing, wiring, putting in windows, carpentry in general, people who like to help.”
Over that time, said Judy Nelson, also of St. Mathews, “We have formed a lot of really good friendships here.”
While most of the work has been done in the church, the real projects lie in the pastor’s house, which is currently demoed down to the studs in most rooms.
“We hope to call for a pastor in the next week or so,” said Gan Messenbring.
Life in Christ, which has a membership of 20-30, but grows in the summer with visitors, has been without a pastor for about five months.
That pastor’s call will go out and hopefully, it will be received like the one Pastor Kohl got some years ago when he pastored a church in the heartland of America.
“I grew up in Iowa, but my parents took us on vacations up here on the North Shore. When I got the call from Cloquet, my father was visiting, and he asked, ‘when are you going to move?’”
“I told him it wasn’t that simple. That I had to pray about it and discuss it with my family. Then the church that puts the call out also has to pray and meet to consider a pastor who applies. I told my father it wasn’t as simple as just taking the job, but he was ready for me to pack my bags. I guess in the end God called me to Cloquet.”
Gan’s son Jay, a great auto mechanic and all-around handyman himself, was implicit in his praise for the churches that sent people to Life in Christ. “We couldn’t do this without their help, and we could never afford to hire people to do the work. There have also been people who have given financial donations that have greatly aided us. All I can say is thank you.”
As for Pastor Kohl and the group from Esko, when asked they said they couldn’t wait to come back.
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