Pastor Doris Harris Mars was ordained into the ministry of Word and Sacrament on June 1, and she has been called by the Synod Council to begin a Synodically Authorized Worshiping Community (SAWC) in Toledo, somewhere in the general area bordered by Reynolds, Bancroft, Collingwood and Hill. The geographic focus of this site will emerge, with the Holy Spirit’s help, in the next few months.

God is indeed doing a new thing! For many years, our church has hoped and prayed that our ministry in this area might be strengthened, and that a new, multicultural congregation might emerge. There are existing congregations within a few miles of this new site, but there clearly is a need for us in the ELCA, and in the Christian church in general, to identify places where the church can be fruitful and multiply. This seems to be a “ripe” place for planting!

Additionally, many in our Northwestern Ohio Synod have come to understand what a precious resource we have in Doris! She has worked among us (Redeemer, Toledo), and during her Trinity Seminary years, she served and learned in our congregations (Augsburg and Hope, Toledo). Not only is Doris making an impact among us through this new start, but she also stimulates our collective spirit, as she, an African-American woman, shares her experience of encountering Lutheran Christianity. Doris has been transformed by Jesus Christ, through his church, but she is also helping transform it as well, by the power of the Spirit!

And how does Pastor Harris Mars feel about serving as mission developer for this “SAWC?” She expressed that she is “giddy and girded,” delighted by this “new thing,” but also determined to do all she can to bring the good news of Jesus to the lost sheep, and to those who do not know Jesus. She has the spirit of an evangelist, and so her spirit is being fed through this new endeavor.

What can you do to help?
Please start praying for Pastor Mars, and for this new mission, every day! This is indeed a real challenge, and Doris needs to have the church standing with her in prayer. In fact if you are interested in serving as a Prayer Partner with Doris, please let her know that by calling her at 419.531-0450, or via email at dharrismars@aol.com.

As you are probably aware, mission starts are precarious in nature, and so we need to muster every possible ounce of spiritual support, imploring God to bless and sustain Doris and this “new thing.” She will be working closely with me and my colleague and brother, Pastor Ray Gottschling, but she needs us all to be with her in spirit!

We also invite you and your congregation to consider financially supporting this new work. At the time, seven congregations – Augusburg, Toledo; Advent, Sylvania; New Creation, Ottawa; St. Marks, Van Wert; Zion, Gibsonburg; Zion, Lima; and Olivet, Sylvania – have pledged to give $60 a week ($3,000 per year) to develop this new mission. We need 20 partners altogether, at that level, to make this work feasible. There are other potential financial resources, but we are counting on the people of the Northwestern Ohio Synod to stand with Doris and this “new thing” to give it the push start it needs.

Since 1988, when this Northwestern Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was formed, only one new congregation has been launched – New Creation in Ottawa (and how wonderful it is to have New Creation as one of the financial partners for this new mission!!). But God is about to do a new thing – again! We know that it’s tough to start a new congregation. We understand the perils of mission development. But God is calling Doris, and God is calling to us through her, to respond to this new opportunity to see the church planted anew in Toledo.

May God bless, keep, and watch over Pastor Mars and this new mission start. It’s true that each Christian and each congregation is about the work of making Christ known every single day. What a thrill it is to see it being done in this new way, in this new place. Thanks be to God!

Pastor Marc Miller
Assistant to Bishop Marcus Lohrmann