Lutheran church festival celebrates project

Submitted by Janie Magruder

My church has a motto, six words that, over the course of 25 years, have come to mean the world to my fellow members at Christ's Greenfield Lutheran Church in Gilbert.

It's a catchy phrase that rolls off the tongues of children at Vacation Bible School each summer, is both the title and the refrain of a signature song of one of our contemporary choirs and is recited during peaceful Christmas Eve services, boisterous Easter celebrations and during regular old Sunday services, too.

"God is good. All the time."

This is most certainly true, as Lutherans say, as we prepare to dedicate and celebrate the end of a $7.5-million building project, an expansion that's been underway at Christ's Greenfield Lutheran Church, preschool and day school for several years. The festival, open to the public, will be from noon to 4 p.m. Nov. 2 at the CGLC campus, 425 N. Greenfield Road.

After Sunday worship services, at 7:30, 9, and 10:30 a.m., a chili cook-off with free food, inflatables, booths and a silent auction will start at noon, followed by a ribbon cutting and dedication of the new buildings at 1:30 p.m. Tours of the sanctuary and schools will start at 2 p.m., and organ recitals are planned for 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. The celebration will end with the congregation's weekly rockin' youth service at 6:02 p.m.

Twenty-five years ago, Christ's Greenfield Lutheran Church was launched by several families who began their worship in a funeral home, until they had the wherewithal to begin construction in what was then rural Gilbert.

Today, the church has 2,000 members and a school which educates about 350 students ages 3 through eighth grade. The building project added 300 seats to the sanctuary, as well as 10 more classrooms and a youth ministry space in the school, plus additional parking.

"Even as the church and school are growing, what's great is that we have been able to keep that small-town feeling," said Pastor Dustin Lappe. "We are 'family,' in every sense of the word.

"God has truly blessed us in order that we might be a blessing to others," said Lappe, noting that the expanded school has opened up additional slots for preschoolers and elementary students.

"What God is doing at Christ's Greenfield is meant to serve the entire community. That's why we want to invite the community to celebrate with us in a big way."

Or, in a way that says, "God is good. All the time."