Abiding Presence finds flexibility in MIF

Abiding Presence finds flexibility in MIF as partner

Abiding Presence Lutheran Church, Burke, VA

The renovation of the sanctuary at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church was a long time in planning, spanning 10 years and the leadership of three different pastors.

When the work was completed in 2013, the result was greeted by the church’s members with great excitement, “a lot of ‘Wow!—I didn’t know it could be like this,’ ” according to Steve Rasmussen, a congregant and member of the building committee. 

The Mission Investment Fund refinanced the original loan for the project, producing cost savings for the congregation. Abiding Presence turned to MIF again early in the pandemic.

Abiding Presence’s senior pastor, the Rev. Meredith Lovell Keseley, recalls the early days of the pandemic, one year ago: “As I preached to the congregation, God has been through pandemics before, but we had not. We just didn't know what to expect.”

Abiding Presence reached out to MIF and arrived at a short-term loan adjustment that offered the congregation some fiscal stability and much-needed peace of mind in the most turbulent of times. “We went to interest-only payments for three months while we figured out what our finances were going to look like,” Pastor Keseley says.

That arrangement and the unflagging commitment of Abiding Presence’s members enabled the congregation to focus on other pressing issues, including a staggering increase in needs met by the church’s food pantry. Where previously it might have served 20 to 25 households each month, in 2020 it came to serve ten times that number.

“The congregation raised about $80,000 in food pantry support on top of giving.” Pastor Lovell Keseley says. “Our flexibility with MIF allowed us to make sure we were able to respond to the ministry needs in our community, first and foremost.”