New Year Brings New Kitchen for Arizona Congregation

The New Year will mean a newly remodeled kitchen for members of Lutheran Church of the Risen Savior, Green Valley, AZ, and no more carting meals from home for the congregation’s many gatherings.

“To be compliant with county health department regulations, we needed a commercial-rated kitchen,” said Mac MacGowan, the congregation’s building chairman. “With our old kitchen, we had to cook food at home and bring it to the church in crock pots and roasters.”

To remodel the church fellowship hall and install a much improved, commercial-grade kitchen, Risen Savior members are participating in Laborers For Christ, a ministry of the Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) that helps Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod congregations take on their own construction projects, build within their budgets and strengthen ministry.

The renovation, which is expected to be complete by early January, has involved no outdoor work, a change for veteran project manager George Cover. “But when it was 110 degrees in August, we were glad all our work was indoors,” said Cover, a Michigan native who is working for his 12th congregation through the Laborers For Christ ministry.

Four Laborers are working on the renovation alongside congregation volunteers. One Risen Savior member, Al Conaway, has worked nearly every day on the project. “He’s 78, and he’s like the ‘Energizer Bunny’,” Cover said of Conaway, who is a former Laborer.

Laborers also take part in worship, Bible study and other activities at Risen Savior, located 26 miles south of Tucson. Congregation members are enjoying getting to know “a great bunch of people,” MacGowan says, and getting firsthand construction updates about how the project is progressing and how soon they can start using their new kitchen.

Likewise, Laborers appreciate how Rev. John Stieve, pastor at Lutheran Church of the Risen Savior, has helped with scheduling and keeping congregational activities on track even when construction temporarily closed access to some facilities. To learn more about the church, visit www.risen-savior.org.

In addition to participating in the Laborers For Christ program, Risen Savior used other LCEF services, including a capital stewardship campaign to raise building funds and an LCEF construction loan.

Laborers are Christian men and women who enjoy opportunities to witness their faith, travel and meet new people. For more information, contact Laborers For Christ at (800) 854-4004, Ext. 6446 or www.lcef.org/services/laborers_for_christ.