By Marcia Schlegelmilch
Staff Writer

YORK -- Last June, 24, the congregation of East Avenue United Methodist Church bid farewell to the community; offering God's blessings as church members moved on.

Not long after the closing a bright orange for-sale sign was planted on the south corner of the church lawn. Watching the church they had called home for so many years close was difficult for the close knit congregation. Former members have watched, hoped and prayed for the best. And as far as many are concerned, the best has come to pass. East Avenue United Methodist Church has been purchased by Bethel Lutheran Church of Waco, a Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Church (WELS) and will remain a church.

Pastor Mark Haefner serves as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Seward as well as Bethel Lutheran Church in Waco. Haefner says, "Bethel Lutheran Church of Waco had been meeting in the high school gym at Nebraska Lutheran in Waco. The congregation started out of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Gresham in 1979."

At that time a group of Wisconsin Synod members from the York and Waco area began meeting in the chapel at Metz Mortuary in York. At about the same time, the decision was made to open a high school in Waco. Once the decision was made to build the high school, the church moved to Waco and began meeting in the Nebraska Lutheran High School building. Soon, the small group was granted "exploratory" status by the mission board of WELS. By then the Gresham church had closed and the small group was faced with the decision to either disband or become a self-supporting congregation. A discussion was held within Grace Lutheran Church in Seward about entering into a dual parish arrangement. Beginning in June of 1980 Pastor Paul Reede became pastor of both Grace and Bethel. Present Pastor Haefner has been serving the Bethel/Grace dual parish since June of 2002.

The Bethel Lutheran Church has been searching for a permanent home for quite some time. Over the years a Building Readiness Committee kept their eyes open for a building to serve as home for the congregation.

According to Pastor Mark, "They looked at old St. Paul's in Utica and a couple of places in York but they were too small. We were looking for something like this or something we could move to Waco. This is the one that seemed to work out.

"The congregation is excited about it ... about having their own building, and it's a bit overwhelming,"

Bethel Lutheran Church is affiliated with Nebraska Lutheran High School and Trinity Lutheran Grade School in Waco, although each is a separate entity.

As one door closes, another opens. Pastor Haefner sees the York church as an opportunity to expand Bethel's ministry. He says, "It's hard to invite people from York over to worship in a gymnasium in Waco. We look forward to expanding our Vacation Bible School. That's one example of where we couldn't do much before."

Haefner reports, "The majority of the congregation liked the traditional look of the building; the stained glass." He explains, members also liked "the idea of having different configurations," being able to close the folding doors and reduce the size of the sanctuary so it would "feel comfortable."

On Oct. 14, following a pot luck dinner, the congregation of the Waco church voted to make an offer on the property. Prior to the vote, "The building had been open for any members of the congregation to look at it. We wanted to present as much information as possible," Pastor Haefner states.

Needless to say the offer was accepted and closing will take place in November sometime.

The Wisconsin Synod Lutheran Church is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., with congregations located throughout the United States, Canada and in countries around the world.

"We are not a large church. We are the third largest of the Lutheran church group. We have a training college in Minnesota and seminary in Wisconsin," informs Pastor Mark. "Bethel's vision is: 'To rejoice in the truth of free forgiveness in Jesus and to share his good news with everyone."

Pastor Haefner resides in Seward with his wife Jane. Jane serves as librarian and study hall supervisor at Nebraska Lutheran High School. The couple has four children; Philip, who is married with two children (with another on the way). Philip is teacher/principal at St. Paul's Lutheran School in St. James, Minn. Erica teaches lower elementary grades at Risen Savior in Mankato, Minn.; Elizabeth, in her final year of nursing school at Mercer University in Atlanta; and Matthew, a Bethany Lutheran College junior who is currently in Army Reserve training in Arizona.

The Haefners look forward to a busy summer as both of their daughters will be married one week apart in Minnesota. Pastor Mark will be performing the ceremonies.

Once Bethel Lutheran Church has a physical location in York, Pastor Mark says he will be spending more time here. "We look at this as not just having a building. We look at this as an opportunity to do more ministry than we have been able to do before."

Bethel's congregation numbers around 100. The pastor says, "Quite a few have faculty connections to Nebraska Lutheran High School. About a third are from York and the rest are scattered in Gresham and different areas around the county. Our congregation has every age group from young children to older adults."

Pastor Haefner is happy for the opportunity to share information regarding Bethel Lutheran's move to the East Avenue building. There are some repairs to be made. And once they are completed the pastor says the Bethel congregation will be ready to invite the community to come in and tour their building.