New members from the Second Quarter of 2013 were welcomed with a reception at the Potluck and Voters’ Meeting. Though not every member of every family is pictured, the families were the Gualtieris, Lands, Mortons, and Thomas.
In Christ Jesus, individual differences, such as those of origin and social status, disappear; all are one in Him and equally children of God and heirs of the Gospel promise (Galatians 3:26-29). Though the congregation assembled at Pilgrim Lutheran Church at any one time may not appear to be all that diverse, Christ’s church is larger and more diverse than meets the eye in Kilgore.
Still, Pilgrim members are themselves diverse in their own ways, of a wide range of ages and economic situations, for example. You will also meet natives and transplants, life-long Lutherans and recent converts, and everything in between. What matters are not our outward differences but that we are called by Christ and united in a shared understanding and confession of the Christian faith. We would like you to join us!
The Lord Jesus told His apostles to make disciples of all people by baptizing and teaching (Matthew 28:19-20). We can say with certainty that every member of Pilgrim has been baptized, and we can probably safely say that every communicant member has at some point gone through at least one “catechism” or “confirmation” class (you can read more about such classes here).
Those who might be interested in membership are likewise welcome to be baptized, if they are not already, and to participate in a catechism class. After successfully completing the class, you are free to join the church as a baptized and confirmed member, but you are under no obligation to do so. Like American Express, membership has its privileges, and it also has its responsibilities–we talk more about those in the class. If you are interested in or have questions about the class, please contact Pastor Galler (pastor@pilgrimlc.org).
In short, we invite you to full fellowship with us! We look forward to getting to know you better, learning of your experiences and sharing ours with you. God’s forgiveness in His Son Jesus Christ given through Word and Sacrament is invaluable for a world in desperate need of His love and mercy. We are anxious to share this most precious gift with you!
