Dear Friends in Christ,
We are posting this letter that we sent out to L.C.M.C. churches with hope and prayers that you might be able to help our church. We are St Paul Lutheran Church on Kodiak Island, Alaska. We organized and started our church in 1969. We took the name St Paul because that is the name of our fishing harbor and we, like our harbor, wanted to be a refuge for people. We were able to build our church building in the late 1970s. Over the years since that time, in addition to ministering and serving the needs of our congregation, our mission has been to share the love of Christ with others. Our mission projects have included providing a Christian-based preschool to the families in our community, sponsoring 2 refugee families to relocate and get established on the island, assisting seminary students with scholarship money, helping to provide heat and food to people in need in our community and state, supporting faith based organizations in our community, state, nation, and internationally with money for programs where ever the need was greatest.
Now we are hoping that you find it in your hearts to help us. Kodiak Island is a beautiful island in the Gulf of Alaska. Our weather conditions are often harsh – combining moisture, cold temperatures, and very high winds, which in combination with salt air and volcanic ash, are very hard on any structures. The roof of our church has suffered catastrophic failure and will need nearly total reconstruction (from sheetrock to shingles). With the costs of shipping and construction on a remote island, the estimates that we have received to replace the failed roof structure are in excess of $500,000. A repair of this amount is devastating to a church our size. We do not know if helping us with a financial gift to help replace our roof is something your congregation can do, but we would appreciate you considering our request. If you are unable to help financially, please keep us in your prayers. If there are any questions that we can answer, please feel free to call.
God’s blessings to you!
Laurie Orvedal Pastor Dave Baldukas
Council President