"Behold, I make all things new."  Revelation 21:5
Building On Faith to Grow, Love and Serve
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BUILDING ON FAITH TO GROW, LOVE AND SERVE
Christ the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Capital Campaign

“Behold, I make all things new.”              Revelation 21:5

The creation of our congregation is a powerful witness to God’s ability to “make all things new.” In October of 1972, God took three churches--Christ Lutheran, Grace Lutheran and St. Paul Lutheran—each with a long and rich history dating back to the late 1800’s, and created one new congregation called Christ Lutheran Church. Then, in 1989, God gathered together Christ Lutheran Church and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and formed yet another new congregation--Christ the Good Shepherd. In October of 2008, God continued “making all things new” by calling Pastor Imani Dodley to be our new pastor.

We remember with gratitude the vision and faithfulness of those who have gone before us.  Because of their faithfulness, we have a wonderful church home with a beautiful sanctuary, welcoming narthex, lovely parlor, spacious fellowship hall, versatile classrooms, functional kitchen, air-conditioning, and a large parking lot. We are very blessed!  But, our predecessor congregations and our current congregation have always believed that we are blessed by God in order to be a blessing.  And our building is one of the blessings that we feel called to share.

Currently we nurture and enrich the lives of hundreds of community members through the various organizations and groups who regularly utilize our building.  Our church houses 17 groups that offer support for overcoming life challenges and help those involved to become stronger members of the community:


AA Support Group
Two 12 Step Programs
Help Us Grow (HUG)
Estonian Community’s Church Service
Rock of Ages Spiritual Church Service
Community Food Cupboard Board
Greater Rochester Community of Churches Board
Girl Scouts
Rochester Home Schoolers’ Association
MOMS (Mother’s Support Group)
Easter Service Workers Association
Rochester Bicycle Club
Election Polling Stations
Morning Music Group
Calligraphy Group
Quilt, Etc. Group


Our “HUG” program offers after-school tutoring and a summer day camp that   provides academic support and recreational experiences for youth in 2nd-5th grades.  Our Food Cupboard provides food for over 245 adults and 75 children who reside in northeast Rochester, which is one of the highest poverty sectors of the city. 

Our church building was constructed in 1964 and has served us well. Over the years we have filled these walls with inspiring worship, vibrant children and youth programs, wonderful fellowship events, stimulating Bible studies, and a large variety of meaningful outreach ministries. Now, our well-used spiritual home is in need of some repairs, and the time has come to build on faith so that we can continue to grow, love and serve.

During the past several years we have devoted much prayer, study and discussion to discerning the best plan for updating and preserving our building in order to support our mission, our membership and our outreach and service to the community.  Our roof has sustained ice damage and the shingles are falling off.  Our boiler is over 45 years old and not energy efficient. Our restrooms need to be updated and enlarged, especially in light of our desire to strengthen our outreach to young families, to be a hospitable place for those who struggle with accessibility issues, and to expand our ability to serve those in our community.

The faithful work of our Property and ad hoc Roof Committee has resulted in a proposed plan that includes the following components in order of priority:

I.  Improve Energy Efficiency and Preserve Facility     $ 150,000
Install new Roof and Insulation
Update Heating System, including a new Boiler
II.  Address Handicap Accessibility Issues$  15,000
Modify and enlarge Restrooms
Reconfigure Pews in sanctuary to accommodate wheel chairs
III.Strengthen Outreach to Young families$  10,000
Renovate Nursery

There is much enthusiasm and commitment to our ministries at Christ the Good Shepherd.  God has given us a vision of our church as an inviting and vibrant place of worship, spiritual nurture, genuine community and service. In good times and bad, we have responded to God’s trust in us with faith, determination, imagination and compassion toward others. We have felt the hand of God leading us, and God’s love supporting and uniting us, through all the challenges of the past! Now, in the midst of the new challenge of a struggling economy, we are called once again to build on faith in order to continue living out our call to be a blessing in this community and beyond. God has built us into a strong, resilient community of faith. As we approach the celebration of our 20th Anniversary this fall, we step forward in faith, trusting that once again God will find a way to  “make all things new!”

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