Posted 3/7/01
Living Branch Lutheran Church breaks ground for child care/worship center
By MaryHelen Swanson
With a cold, brisk wind blowing across the vacant site, Sunday, March 4, members of Living Branch Lutheran Church in North Branch broke ground for the Christian child care center just off Co. Rd. 14 south on Hemingway Ave.
The celebration was the culmination of nearly two and a half years of hard work by a dedicated team of folks from the church who love the Lord and have a kind heart for children.
The center, which will be known as ìLoving Arms Christian Child Care Center,î will provide high quality child care in a loving, safe, Christian environment where children will grow socially and intellectually, but also morally and spiritually as they hear of Jesusí love for them and grow in their faith.
The building will also be the home of Living Branch Lutheran Church and worship services will take place in the large inner room surrounded by the child care rooms.
A separate worship sanctuary is planned for the future.
Braving the chilly weather, the congregation participated in a brief ceremony which included an opening song of thanks, invocation by Pastor Steve Ferber, and readings of scripture: Psalm 127 ìUnless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.....î; Luke 6:47-49 ìI will show you what He is like who comes to Me and hears My words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock......î; and Mark 10:13-16 ìPeople were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, ëLet the little children come to me.....íî
This building is dedicated to the Lord, Pastor Ferber said, noting it was probably the first of its kind in Minnesota - a combination child care center and church.
It will be a church based on the Word, Pastor Ferber stressed, with the special emphasis on the love for His children.
Living Branch Lutheran Church, a congregation of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, is four years old, being officially chartered in the year 2000.
The child care center and worship building is expected to be completed by mid-August.