With temperatures in the 20’s accompanied by sleet, snow and a 20 mph wind, the weather was a bit uncertain for the first service of the New Life Fellowship the morning of Sunday, March 16. They came to the Peace Center anyway – more than 50 people seeking to be part of that first service. Of those gathered, 12 were visitors from established Lutheran congregations; some from as far away as Indianapolis, IN. The remainder were from the refugee camps in Nepal, almost all of them having arrived within the past six to eight months.

Nepali singers (here pictured at ascension Lutheran Church)

Pastor-in-Training Gagan Gurung, himself a recent Nepali arrival, served as the worship leader. Having performed a similar service for a growing congregation that had been established in one of the refugee camps, Gagan was confirmed just two months ago at Ascension Lutheran Church in south City. He is also a participant in the weekly Leadership Formation Class which has been meeting at the Peace Center for the past several months.

This Fellowship is being established in partnership with Ascension Lutheran Church and will in effect, serve as a satellite of that congregation – this by virtue of a ministry agreement between CFNA (Christian Friends of New Americans) and Ascension. On the first Sunday of each month they meet at Ascension to participate in worship services there. Those who have been confirmed also receive the Lord’s Supper.

The remaining Sundays of each month the Fellowship meets at the Peace Center, which serves as a more convenient worship location for many of them. Presently, 12 of the Fellowship members are enrolled in a catechetical class taught by Pastor Matt Clark of Ascension. These classes are taught at the Peace Center.

We wish Evangelist Gagan and the members of the New Life Lutheran Fellowship our Lord’s richest blessings as they seek to reach out further into the growing Nepali refugee community in St. Louis with the hope-generating message of a living and forgiving Christ.

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