Here We Grow Again, Page 1
Abiding Presence Lutheran Church

Nancy Osborn was elected Vice President of the Congregation in 1975 and Bob Drake took over the Planning Committee duties. The need for more worship, education, fellowship, and office space was balanced with increased financial obligation, both initial and ongoing, and a decision was made to begin to organize ideas and suggestions to formulate a design for construction of an educational wing. Fred Gould handled the sale of two lots from our property to serve as a financial basis for the project. In June of the year, Pr. Nelson and Judy Binner were married. The Stewardship theme was "Love, Grow, and Respond."

A service of groundbreaking was held on May 16, 1976. Included in the cornerstone was a stone struck by Nancy Osborn during the groundbreaking ceremony. Abiding Presence is truly "built on a rock." In November, Pr. Nelson was called to serve as a missionary in Brussels, Belgium. Pastor Thomas Weber, a member of Abiding Presence, served as interim pastor. The loss of the Bieweners and Langmans was balanced by the arrival of Mary and John Toft, Dan and Ruth Hall, Iris Kean and Mike Stroukoff. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. The first strawberry festival was prepared by the LCW and for the first time, "We Care" boxes were sent to college students and those in military service. These goodie boxes have turned out to be one of the most popular and appreciated means of outreach to those away from the congregation. The thank you notes received have been extremely gratifying. In lieu of sending Christmas cards to congregation members, families posted greetings on the bulletin board and made a contribution to the chapel chair fund. As the education wing took shape, members spent countless hours renovating the old building and preparing the new. Installation of insulation and sheetrock, painting, cabinet work, decorating, refinishing chairs, and landscaping resulted in a saving of almost $10,000.

The Service of Dedication of the educational wing took place on January 23, 1977. A new pastor was called. The Reverend Charles E. Leps conducted the service of Worship on Feb. 20, was called effective April l, 1977 and installed on May 15. This was the first time Abiding Presence had an "experienced" pastor. Jan and Charlie moved into the parsonage on Lower Ferry Road, assisted by several members who helped unload the rented moving van In his first annual report, Pastor Leps wrote:

You have come a long way in a short span of 15 years. You have had excellent leadership in many areas, the commitment and devotion of many people. Faith and frustration, grumbling and grace are mixed together and used by the Spirit of the Lord to make His Presence known among us. We have not yet "arrived" as a congregation. There are plenty of challenges and jobs for us all.... As always, there is the temptation for those who take on more than their share of the grubby work to become discouraged. We have to ask the Lord not to let us give into such feelings. .......I pray for Abiding Presence as we come into our 15th year of life together that we may grow in the ways in which we give Glory to God, and further, may the spirit open our eyes to see the glory and the power working in us.

A Fifteenth Anniversary Celebration Service was held on Sunday, September 24 with Dr. Herluf Jensen, new President (later changed to Bishop) of the NJ Synod as preacher. A reception in the new fellowship hall followed. The expanded building afforded opportunities for more people to become involved in the care of the property. Linda Adams did the scheduling for church members to keep the interior clean; Doug McRoberts and Mark Glaser, under the "watchful eye" of Mrs. Glaser, planted shrubs and trees to beautify the exterior. Junior and Senior Youth groups were "advised" by Mr. & Mrs. Lee Harrod, Mr. & Mrs Fred Gould, Mr. & Mrs. Ed Gray, Mr. & Mrs. Robert Drake, Edith Gates, Suzanne Neff, and Ted & Sally Warwick. They participated in the church cleaning staff, refreshments and entertainment for church events, and presented a Lenten service program entitled, "When 2 or 3 are gathered, somebody spills the milk." Halloween parties for Sunday School youngsters, CROP Walk, field trips, and sports events rounded out the activities for the teenagers, many who are not members of our congregation.