![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.minnesotaumc.org\/files\/tables\/content\/15365589\/fields\/primaryimage\/e50d85e0c7844126b5e35f886fc205ea\/cfad522b-138a-4694-bd61-3b5275434c8a.jpg?width=500\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nBy:<\/strong> Christa Meland<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carrie Callaghan\u2019s friend Jane invited her to church again\u2026and again\u2026and again. So Callaghan finally decided to finally go one Sunday\u2014if for no other reason than to satisfy Jane. But she and her husband were surprised to discover that they loved worship, the people, and the warm welcome they received, so they kept coming back. In 2019, Rev. Amanda Lunemann was appointed to Silver Lake as its interim pastor to help the congregation discern its future. The two big messages she communicated from the beginning: 1. God is not done with you; and 2. You have agency, and I\u2019m here to help you claim it. \u201cIt became clear that the whole church, albeit very sad and in a state of grief, they were ready,\u201d she said. \u201cThere was a true consensus amongst those who were participating: It was time for God to move us through legacy.\u201d After worship that day, Lunemann wanted to help members process their brave and difficult decision. So a potter in the congregation made small clay pots, and during the service, African violets were positioned between the pots in the sanctuary. After the vote, each person was invited to come up, take a pot, and plant a flower in it; it was a way of symbolically planting their grief and a sign that God was going to grow something beautiful and new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was amazing to watch these folks trust God\u2014they trusted life,\u201d said Lunemann. \u201cThey could have chosen the easier way, to throw up their hands and say \u2018I am tired so I\u2019m gonna let somebody else do this\u2019 and walk away heartbroken. They walked the path of life.\u201d \u201cThis is an example of how God works in these moments that seem like death,\u201d said Lunemann. \u201cThe process taught me that sometimes, sometimes, taking one step at a time is the best way to stay faithful in the moment.\u201d
That was 26 years ago, and Silver Lake United Methodist Church in Oakdale has been their spiritual home ever since. Callaghan has prepared meals for Vacation Bible School, served as a greeter, cleaned the church, and been involved in countless other ways. A small group helped her think about and offer grace in a way that has stuck with her ever since.
But in recent years, the congregation has declined in number while its population has aged. Money became tight, and members got scared. \u201cWe were so focused on how to bring people into the building that we lost our focus,\u201d Callaghan explained. The question of whether the church should close its doors loomed large.
Discerning the future<\/strong>
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She led the congregation through a study around the book \u201cChoosing the Faithful Path,\u201d and then COVID hit\u2014which presented its own set of challenges and sped up the decision-making process. Lunemann organized listening sessions via Zoom to hear members reflect on what they felt God was calling them to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While struggling with feelings of guilt and pondering the next right step for the church, Callaghan said something came into her heart in the middle of the night and told her, \u201cYou didn\u2019t fail; you succeeded, and now it\u2019s time.\u201d She reflected on those words the whole next day, and eventually realized that it was God telling her: \u201cWell done, good and faithful servant. I need you to rest, breathe, take sabbath, mourn, celebrate, and know that I\u2019m not done with you.\u201d
On Aug. 2, 2020, the people of Silver Lake UMC voted unanimously in favor of a legacy proposal developed by a team from the church. They would sell the building, donate proceeds to some beloved organizations, and support a new mission outpost of the Minnesota Conference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.minnesotaumc.org\/files\/tables\/content\/15365589\/files\/IMG_3723.jpg?width=350\")
Silver Lake\u2019s last worship service was on All Saints\u2019 Day, Nov. 1, 2020. Lunemann created a labyrinth through the church as a way to tell the story of God in ministry with the church over three decades. Family pods stopped at various stations in the church to reminisce and to say goodbye.
Leaving a legacy<\/strong>
In February 2021, Silver Lake UMC sold its building to a Pentecostal, non-denominational church that had been praying for just such a space. Of the $780,000 that the church pocketed, members tithed 10 percent to organizations that represented the 30-year ministry of Silver Lake\u2014most on the east side of the Twin Cities, as well as the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). The rest will be invested into a new house church ministry led by Rev. Steve Reiser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.minnesotaumc.org\/files\/tables\/content\/15365589\/files\/Carrie.jpg?width=450\")
Reiser is working to create a network of house churches, starting in the northeast metro. Since March, a small group from Silver Lake has been meeting weekly on Wednesday evenings\u2014sometimes at a park, other times on Zoom\u2014as the first \u201chouse church.\u201d Reiser hopes to launch many more in the coming months.
\u201cMy prayer is that we\u2019ll be living out the mission of The United Methodist Church and, more specifically, the mission and vision of the Minnesota Annual Conference to make disciples for the transformation of the world,\u201d said Reiser. \u201cI hope that for the folks on the east side and beyond, the house church gives them community where they can build their faith, where they can disciple each other, where they can support each other in their times of need\u2026Five years down the road, I\u2019d love to have 50 house churches that meet at different times and hire more clergy to make it work.\u201d
Hopes and dreams<\/strong>
Callaghan is one of the members of the inaugural house church and serves as its informal leader. \u201cI am absolutely loving it,\u201d she said.
At each gathering, members of the group eat together, share how it is with their souls, read scripture, and pray for each other out loud. Then they end with communion. At some point, Callaghan says, one of the members of the house church will break away and start a new one.
She hopes that the house church network will grow far and wide. Perhaps eventually, all of the house churches can all get together monthly for worship or an activity\u2014and can help each other meet the needs of people in their respective communities.
\u201cMy dream is that we just opened a church everywhere,\u201d said Callaghan. \u201cThis gives us so much more opportunity to serve our mission field, not just to study and learn and serve and grow our own faith, but to somehow cause that ripple that turns into a wave.\u201d
One thing she knows for sure: \u201cGod didn\u2019t bring me this far to just bring me this far,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m excited. The possibilities are endless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n