The Church of Our Saviour-Lutheran in Manhasset celebrated it 75th anniversary Sunday with a service of celebration and a luncheon.
Nearly 200 people attended Sunday’s service of celebration, which was the fourth installment of a year-long Sunday celebration series put on by the church.
Approximately 150 people were in attendance at the luncheon that followed the service at the Port Washington Yacht Club.
“[The celebration] gave us an opportunity to thank God for God’s generosity for 75 years,” said interim Pastor John Jurik. “We want to be a blessing to the community.”
Jurik said the theme of the church’s 75h anniversary was “remember, rejoice and renew.”
“[We want to] remember the past, rejoice in the present, and renew for future ministry,” Jurik said.
Rev. Tom Hammond, who served as the church’s third settled pastor, was a guest preacher at the celebration.
Jurik said Hammond’s sermon was focused on reminding members of the church about the church’s history.
Hammond’s message about the church’s history was reiterated by Garth Weber, the son of the church’s founder, Rev. William R. Weber.
Weber, a retired lawyer from New Jersey, said at the luncheon that when he was a young boy, his father took him to the top of the highest hill in Manhasset and told him that he was going to build the church there because he was able to see the New York City skyline from the top of the hill.
As part of the celebration, members of the church were given a string of yarn and asked to tie the yarn on a net in front of church.
Jurik said the yarn represents the “prayers of people, ” and the net is left in front of the church to serve as a reminder of prayers.
The church also made donations throughout the past year of several different items in quantities of 75, to coincide with the 75th anniversary celebration, including shoes, socks and packs of school supplies.
Many of the donations, Jurik said, go to the New Life Center in Hempstead.
“We are here to serve the needy in the community,” Jurik said.
Pastor-elect Rev. Marc Herbst, who will become the new the settled pastor on Dec. 1, attended the celebration and the luncheon, Jurik said.
Herbst was elected the new settled pastor in September.
Jurik added that members pledged more than $8,000 Sunday that will go toward concluding a two-year campaign for ministry by the church.
The campaign has already allowed the church to a youth minister to their staff, install air conditioning in their sanctuary, and install a chair lift from the lower level to the sanctuary level to assist members who have trouble with stairs, Jurik said.
The luncheon included dancing, a cocktail hour and a DJ, and was designed for both children and adults, said Kathy McNally, the church’s congregation president.
“It was very clear that all ages were enjoying things,” she said. “[It] was a culminating event that brought us all together.”
McNally said that she is also looking forward to the church’s future under new leadership.
“Everybody is ready to move forward with a great deal of excitement about how we can best be a force in our community,” she said. “We are ready to move on with new leadership.”
