At Home in the Church

When Dilworth Lutheran Church opened up after the pandemic, there was a large celebration. It was Lorna Kennedy’s 90th birthday party! For the past 70 years, Lorna had called Dilworth home. And, on this day, after a long time apart, the church came together to celebrate someone who gave so much to the church.

For Lorna, it was a homecoming. “For as long as I remember, Dilworth Lutheran was a place where I feel I belong. I feel comfortable and safe here.” Like many others, Lorna was so happy to be together again. “People stuck around to visit. We were home again.”

For Lorna, Dilworth Lutheran has always been a special place. When she was a young mother, she faced a crisis in her marriage and was divorced. As a mother of six young boys, this was a difficult position to be in. Dilworth Lutheran, however, provided her with support. “I made lifelong friends at church. All of us young mothers became so close, our families almost became interchangeable.” The church helped raise her boys in the faith—she still remembers by name the woman who taught all her boys in Sunday School. Dilworth was not simply a church, but it was home. “It is so much a part of me I wouldn’t know what to do without it.”

And Dilworth Lutheran Church wouldn’t know what to do without the leadership, kindness, and love of Lorna Kennedy. When we celebrated her 90th birthday, we celebrated someone who has made a real difference in the life of our church.