In July 2002, St. Paul's Lutheran Church voted to establish a Lao Ministry as part of our congregational outreach by hiring Phetsamone Vannavong as our Lao Neighborhood Minister ("Ajarn" or "Ajan" in the Lao language).
A native of Laos, Ajan Vannavong brings many qualifications for his ministry at St. Paul's. He has a bachelor's degree from Crown College in Pastoral Ministry, a Master of Divinity degree from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and is an ordained pastor in the ELCA. He brought to St. Paul's more than ten years of pastoral experience at the Lao Christian Church in Milwaukee and various congregations in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
His ministry at St. Paul's includes:
- Visiting and sharing the gospel with Lao members of our neighborhood and wider Milwaukee community;
- Leading Bible studies and a worship service in Lao for Lao adults;
- Providing social service advocacy and assistance to Lao families.
Joint Worship and Fellowship Events
Ajan Vannavong and the members of the Lao Ministry Support Committee are committed to making the Lao Ministry a ministry of St. Paul's, and not a separate congregation. To this end, we hold several joint English/Lao events each year:
- At least three times a year, a bi-lingual service is held in English and Lao, at 10:00 a.m. New members who are Lao will generally join St. Paul's on one of these Sundays.
- Several times a year, joint English/Lao Potluck Fellowship Dinners are served, featuring egg rolls, fried rice and more traditional Lao dishes, prepared by Inthaly Vannavong, and American dishes brought by English-speaking members.
- Each week that we have the two services (in Lao and English), Lao worshippers will join English worshippers for the coffee fellowship hours before and after worship.
