March 27, 2019
Dear Friends of Table of Grace in Harrisburg South Dakota,
Three and a half years ago Table of Grace began ministry in Harrisburg inviting people to “Find a life with living around God’s Table of Grace,” and since then, TOG has been doing just that. We give thanks for grace that has been poured out and the lives that have been blessed through this ministry. Pastor Kristie Berglund, the mission developer at Table of Grace, will leave her call on April 30th to accompany her parents as her mother battles cancer. We hold Pastor Kristie deeply in our prayers as she goes to love and serve her parents at this tender time.
With Pastor Kristie’s departure Table of Grace will observe and ending of this season of ministry on April 10th at 305 W. Willow St. in Harrisburg, SD at 5:30 PM. All formal ministry operations after this date will cease. Partners like you are invited to attend – please bring a dessert to pass!
Pastor Jess Daum, who had been called to serve as the original mission developer for Table of Grace, left to accept a new call as the Director for Evangelical Mission in the Eastern North Dakota Synod in August of 2018. Prior to her departure, she and pastor Kristie had discovered an innovative way of reaching the Harrisburg community. In the last year, Table of Grace had made great strides engaging families through “Family Faith Night” and welcoming growing disciples around the more intimate Word and Sacrament gatherings called “The Family Table.” Through this innovative ministry, we’ve seen God’s Holy Spirit at work calling and gathering 21st century families into an authentic and relevant experience of Christ’s church. The model of ministry that Table of Grace had landed upon after months of experimentation was proving fruitful and producing growth in both leadership and numbers of people reached. These lessons will be carried forward to inform whatever God calls us to do next in the Harrisburg community.
This ministry has been a partnership between the South Dakota Synod and the Presbytery of South Dakota. We’ve been grateful for this collaboration with our Presbyterian full communion partners and would look forward to working with them again in the future.
We firmly believe that in God nothing is lost. God’s word does not return empty, and the seeds that were planted by Table of Grace will bear abundant fruit in ways we’ve not yet imagined.
Thank you for your partnership in this ministry – for your prayers and your gifts of time, talent and money that were a blessing to so many. This has been a treasured collaboration. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Your Partner in God’s Mission,
Pastor Bill Tesch, Director for Evangelical Mission and Associate to the Bishop
South Dakota Synod, ELCA
btesch@sdsynod.org
Attached: Pastor Kristie Berglund’s Letter to the people of Table of Grace
