Faith+Values: New Wine Church has new digs

Members of Lyndale United Church of Christ were caught by surprise when their building sold as soon as it went on the market. But for the new owners, the deal was anything but sudden.

"We'd been looking for a church for five years," said the Rev. Tony Oliha of New Wine Church. "It might have been a surprise to them, but it was the answer to five years of praying for us."

Lyndale UCC and Salem Lutheran Church had been sharing the sanctuary at 810 W. 31st St., Minneapolis. They had planned to move into a new joint facility in 16 months and were told that it probably would take that long to sell the church building. So they put it up for sale.

Their real estate agent didn't know about New Wine Church, whose 200 members were holding services in an empty warehouse and dreaming of the day they could have their own sanctuary.

"From the moment we saw it, we knew this was it," Oliha said.

With Lyndale UCC and Salem temporarily holding services in the Intermedia Arts theater, New Wine Church is preparing for its move, which is likely to take a couple of months.

"We want to do a little work on the building to turn it into a community center," Oliha said. "We are a community-based church, and we want to see what we can do to make a difference in the lives of the people who live in the Uptown area. A lot of what I'm doing right now is talking to other fellowship groups in the neighborhood. We're not trying to take over. We're just coming in to enhance what is already there."

Aimed at ages 6 to 10, the program is being held Friday evening in 50 kid-friendly locations nationwide, including the Minnesota Children's Museum. For $10 per family, it includes dinner, educational activities and take-home materials.

The program runs from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the museum, 10 W. 7th St., St. Paul. To register, go to www.thrivent.com/shareday or call 1-800-236-3736.

Help for the asking Although the first tenants started moving in six months ago, workers finally have moved out of the Center for Changing Lives, and Lutheran Social Service is celebrating the official grand opening of its one-stop assistance center.

The building, at 2400 Park Av. S. in Minneapolis, combines affordable housing with job training, financial services, health support, after-school services for children and even an in-house church. Thursday's grand opening will run from 3:30 to 7 p.m. and will feature 20 booths offering information about the services.

"Our grand opening is a great opportunity for the community to come and learn about the many services offered, find meaningful ways to volunteer and consider ways to be involved with us as a partner," said Mark Peterson, president of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota.