What the church means to me, a first generation Canadian, but at heart equally a Dane

The Danish church, my parents’ church, was always something I took for granted. My parents wed there, I was baptised there, was taken to Sunday School weekly, and was confirmed by Pastor Rasmussen.

Now I have been married there, and had my children baptised and confirmed as well. The Danish pastor and church congregation have also been such a support for our family in times of deep sorrow. I pray that the church will be able to continue to serve my children, and eventually their families.

We are all very proud of our Danish heritage in this multi-cultural society and it should be celebrated!

Many of us lead very busy lives, have active families and different commitments. As much as we would like to be there on a Sunday to throw our donation in the basket, the reality is that many of us make it for special events and Christmas and only the odd Sunday in between.

It’s great that the church is there when we want to celebrate in our Danish Lutheran way, but we have to remember that it is our church, and support it.

An alternative form of donation has been created and that is to make a donation monthly on-line via the church web site. I have done it so that my monthly pledge is automatically charged to my credit card. It is now the time for us, the next generation, to step up to the plate. I know there are many of us out there that could easily make such a small commitment.

We have calculated that if we received monthly $10 or $20 representing one person for each newsletter mailed out, we would have all our shortfalls covered and not have to worry about the future of the church anytime soon, and it is time to worry! As always any form of donation is greatly appreciated.

Parents/Grandparents please read this and pass it on to your adult children. Remind them that the Danish Lutheran Church serves them as well as you.

Susanne Pagh Chaffe, summer 2009