Eastside Mission - Reconcile
Eastside Mission is Reconcile Church, which seeks to reconcile God and people through relationships by following the command of Jesus to spread His word. Reconcile seeks to meet people where they are in order to show them God's love and tell them who God is and His plan for salvation.
Reconcile Church is a community of people on Milwaukee's East Side centered on the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
Church is not just an institution. Jesus is more than Sunday mornings. Reconcile is a church without walls.
Why Reconcile?
Everyone has a story. A reason or reasons why they are who they are and believe what they believe. Jesus cares about this story and has been involved in the life of every person whether one knows it or not.
Many have been hurt by the church. They don't trust organized religion and especially Christians. For some this mistrust is based upon negative experiences with ignorant Christians or church leaders. For others this mistrust is based upon ignorance and popular culture.
There is an arm’s length rift in our lives between us and the God of the Universe. This rift doesn't understand who Jesus is. This rift prevents forgiveness and true contentment.
This rift causes isolation and pain, realized or not. This means that a project of reconciliation is needed. Jesus Christ is the great reconciler. We take his lead and follow his command, meeting people where they are in order to reflect who God is and God's plan for his creation.
Who is Reconcile?
We're a group of East Siders who were nurtured at Brookfield Lutheran Church. We formed as a Bible study group that meets weekly, exploring God's Word to grow in our own faith, to get to know each other, and to be a "seed" group for Reconcile. At Easter 2009 we were commissioned to bring Jesus' message to our communities and those who feel alienated from traditional organized Christianity.
Marc Englehardt, our pastor, came to Brookfield Lutheran Church as vicar in August 2008, bringing a vision of an East Side non-traditional Lutheran mission: a church without walls that strives to meet people where they are, in their alienation from God; to love them, as Jesus commands; to bring them the good news of Jesus' love, grace and salvation. Marc was ordained at Brookfield Lutheran Church on August 30, 2009.
What do we do?
We have weekly Bible study, which continues on Tuesday evenings, as the foundation of our fellowship.
Currently we worship weekly, on Sundays at 10:30 a.m., with a simple service of confession, prayer, Bible study and praise. We have two guitar players who help to lead our singing. Throughout the summer we've been meeting at the Back Bay Park overlooking Lake Michigan.
We seek out service opportunities as a way to get to know our communities and to provide for others. We pulled weeds at the Urban Ecology Center and helped out with the June Teen Challenge there. We helped cook at The Gathering and serve the meal at St. Ben's Community Meal. We distributed flyers for the Hunger Task Force to promote the summer meals for kids at Milwaukee public schools. Marc volunteers weekly at Repairers of the Breach: "Bikes and Bibles with Marc," and we helped serve the Labor Day picnic for the homeless there. Recently we joined Christ the Life (Waukesha) members and other volunteers to paint the inside of a Habitat for Humanity house on the East Side.
How do we engage?
Our website, www.reconcilechurch.org, has a daily reflection as well as a Bible reading and short commentary. Readers are encouraged to leave comments, ask questions, and become part of the discussion.
Marc has "office hours" in several coffee shops on the East Side.
As a group we've held "Game Night," a time to relax and talk on a few Monday evenings, and we gathered for several Round Tables on Saturdays at Brewed on Brady. We hosted a Reconcile picnic in July in Estabrook Park, featuring outdoor worship, abundant food, and games.
Who supports us?
Brookfield Lutheran Church is our mother church and we operate as a mission of BLC. A BLC transition team serves as prayer partners; the elders and executive committee provide support and guidance. We are accountable to BLC.
The Siebert Foundation is providing monetary support, and we are seeking support from the LCMS Ablaze! program.
The Reconcile seed group supports Reconcile Church through tithes. Ten percent of all offerings are set aside for missions beyond Reconcile itself.
All are welcome!
We invite you to contact us, to join us for any activity, and to refer others to us. Contact us at reconcilechurch.org and leave a message. Or send an email to reconcile.marc@gmail.com or reconcile.janet@gmail.com. We'd like to get to know to you!
"God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." - 2 Corinthians 6:19-20