News Writing Color Story: Expereince at St. Mark's Lutheran Church

Provo, Utah- In LDS-heavily populated and non-diverse Utah County, we sometimes forget the reality that there are other denominations of worship within the community made up of people who we can all learn genuine life lessons from.

Living in north Provo for the majority of my life, I often drove past St. Mark’s Lutheran Church with barely an acknowledgement that the serene, tan-bricked church house existed.

After 21 years of ignorance as to what actually took place inside the walls of that brick church, I decided to cross into the realms of the unknown.

Before the door had even swung to a close behind my friend and I, a greeter was at our side handing us copies of the program and introducing himself.

Kelly was his name.

His round face, neatly combed-over hair, and gentle personality instantly dissipated any fears and doubts either of us had of stepping foot into the homely confines of the Lutheran chapel.

As the sermon on the Transfiguartion was given, one could not help but notice the reverence displayed in the chapel. Even the children of the congregation were sitting quietly with arms folded as their short legs dangled over the pues.

At the end of the service, each and every member came and politely shook our hands.

There was Deborah from Springville with her little girl.

There was George Arglye who had a son in Denver, who loved to smoke and was excited for the new electronic cigarettes out on the market.

There was Gary, the volunteer preacher who was just filling in for the time being while the congregation looked for a full-time preacher.

Each and every person struck a chord of genuine, Christ-like friendliness.

As they invited us to come again the next week, it was gut-wrenching to turn down the invitation explaining our strong ties to the LDS-faith.

Although I may never step foot in that serene, tan-bricked church house ever again, the people of that congregation left a lasting impression of Christians who really practiced what they believed.

That is a genuine life lesson that we could all learn to follow.