It took a sabbatical for Pra. Violeta Siguenza-Del Aguila to finally get my first visit in to Walnut Hill Lutheran. I was covering worship for Pra. Violeta on her first Sunday away.

I am grateful to congregations that grant sabbatical time for their pastors as I experienced one myself while serving at Martin Luther Church in Milwaukee. I honestly don’t think I would still be a pastor if I had not taken sabbatical time. But that’s another topic.

Walnut Hill Lutheran has a unique story as they are no longer in their original church building on Walnut Hill. They made a difficult but wise decision to sell a building that required more maintenance than they could handle. They now worship in a more manageable space that makes creative use of a building that was not built to be a church.

They are also unique in their history as an Anglo congregation that embraced Latinx ministry to expand their identity. Their English speaking worship is quite small but their Spanish language service has grown. They are truly a bilingual ministry meeting the needs of many.