Church sign shares resurrection message as ‘witness,’ ‘welcome’

By Paula Schlueter Ross (paula.ross@lcms.org)

Usually the message on the outdoor sign at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mobile, Ala., is changed every week. But the message that was posted at the start of this year’s Holy Week will be up for a month — maybe even longer — because it seems to be a valuable witnessing tool, according to Trinity Pastor Rev. Dr. Ulmer Marshall.

“We celebrate Easter 52 times a year. Join us any Easter Sunday.” That’s the message on the church sign that’s making a lot of people think, Marshall says.

“Every Sunday we ought to be proclaiming the resurrection of our Lord and what He means to us, that He lives in our lives,” the pastor explained. That’s not just a sermon for Easter Sunday, which, along with Christmas, brings in a lot of extra church-goers.

“The church is packed on Easter Sunday, and you don’t see” some of the worshipers again “until probably Christmas or next Easter,” Marshall said.

The sign is meant to encourage those once- or twice-a-year worshipers to come every week, he added. It also offers a Christian witness and welcome to all of Mobile.

Marshall says he has noticed a few additional worshipers at post-Easter Sunday services, and credits the message on the sign — which he also addressed in his Easter sermon.

Parents of students at Trinity’s day school — and others — have told Marshall they like the sign, and he always responds, “Well, join us Easter Sunday!”

Adds the pastor: “We’re hoping the message will get that across to them” and “they’ll join us every Sunday, Easter Sunday.”

Posted April 24, 2015 / Updated April 26, 2015

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