John Louk

Salem has faced some major issues. The Flood of 2008 was the worst disaster in Iowa's history and one of the ten worst in the nation. Our buildings, gathering space, furnishings, equipment, and base of operations were destroyed. The church office was also destroyed, including all the data, information, history, and filing therein. The staff changed radically with a new pastor and no associate pastor, discipleship director, or contemporary music director. The chaos interrupted many of the ongoing congregational ministries. The flood directly compromised many in our congregation. The flood displaced the Walk to Emmaus community after 133 walks at the Salem site. It has been a difficult, stressful year. But God is good! We created a timeline to help us remember what has happened during the past year and celebrate what has been accomplished. Many things have changed. But we are still the people of God, participating in God's mission to the world. Exciting things have happened and ...

On Monday, July 20, we signed the paperwork for the voluntary “buyout” in Cedar Rapids. Our Leadership Board decided to do this as the deadline was upon us and we needed to sign the paperwork if we ever wanted to be considered for the buyout. Salem is eligible for the voluntary property acquisition program ("buyout") as the Salem properties downtown are located within a flood-impacted neighborhood and our properties are determined to be "beyond reasonable repair," which is defined as a rehabilitation cost that exceeds 60% of the pre-flood assessed value of the property. We are able to back out of the buyout at any time up until closing. If we participate in the buyout, we will first need the approval of the district building and location committee, the approval of the Bishop and Cabinet, and the approval of our congregation (charge conference). If we participate in the buyout, it could take a year or longer to close on our downtown properties. The money is available...

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:42 NRSV Because we have been sharing space, thanks to the great kindness of our Kenwood Park UMC brothers and sisters, we have been assembling for one worship service on Sunday mornings. I have heard from a few people that, for them, our one service is either too traditional or it is too contemporary (yes, I have heard both!). Furthermore, the comments generally refer to the songs we sing or the style of the music. Perhaps it would be helpful to share my approach to worship. This is part of the doctoral dissertation I am working on, so I have done quite a bit of research in this area. A big question for me is, How did the ancient church worship? “Walking backwards into the future,” means looking to the early church as we move forward in the twenty-first century. About the middle of the second century, Justin Martyr wrote in his First Apology a description of the normal Su...