Making a sad day a day of joyful celebration
Divine Peace Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, Wis., was started as a mission of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod in 1957. The neighborhood on S. 76th Street was a new and growing community on the southwest outskirts of Milwaukee, an area at the time filled not with blocks of homes but with undeveloped fields and few streets.
After almost 65 years of bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to its neighborhood, Divine Peace will hold its final worship service on Sunday, Nov. 7.
It’s always a sad day when circumstances force a congregation to close its doors for the last time. But even at a time of sadness and loss, the members of Divine Peace have found a way to celebrate and to express their joy and thanks to a gracious God.
The congregation has decided that the proceeds from the sale of its building, along with its other assets, will be used to carry out gospel ministry even after Divine Peace has closed. It has designated that 80 percent of the congregation’s assets will be given to the synod to support the planting of new home missions and that 20 percent of the assets will be given to Wisconsin Lutheran High School in Milwaukee to support the Christian education of young people. In doing so, the congregation is making a beautiful statement that even though Divine Peace will no longer exist, its ministry will continue through these gifts that will be used to proclaim the gospel through new congregations and through the Christian education of future generations.
The members of Divine Peace are bringing this gift to the synod both out of desire to further mission work in new locations but also out of thanks and appreciation for the synod that established Divine Peace as a home mission in 1957.
Because of its location in Milwaukee, the members of Divine Peace will have many different opportunities to find a new WELS church home in the area. Divine Peace is providing its members with assistance in finding and joining a congregation nearby.
Our prayers are with the members of Divine Peace. And we join in thanking them for this forward-looking gift of faith that will continue to support gospel ministry for generations to come.
Serving with you in Christ,
WELS President Mark Schroeder
