On the west edge of Eldridge, a small Iowa town north of the Quad Cities, Faith Lutheran Church sits along West LeClaire Road with the kind of unassuming presence that lets its ministries speak for it. Members greet visitors in the narthex, a chime choir named Resounding Joy rehearses downstairs, and on the last weekend of every month, empty food cans rattle down the pews to gather loose change for the hungry. The congregation belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is part of the Southeastern Iowa Synod, and its work stretches from this Scott County neighborhood to Tanzania, Japan, and the youth mission trips that take high schoolers to places as varied as Alaska, New Mexico, and Connecticut.
Saturday Evenings, Sunday Mornings, and an Online Congregation
Faith Lutheran keeps two weekly worship services on its calendar. On Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and Sunday at 9:00 a.m., the congregation gathers in the sanctuary for a service that, in most weeks, follows the traditional Lutheran liturgy using the Evangelical Lutheran Worship hymnal. On the second weekend of the month, the Saturday 5:00 p.m. and the Sunday 8:00 a.m. service are led by Jubilation, the church's contemporary worship band; on the third weekend, Jubilation leads the 10:30 a.m. service. Between those contemporary weekends, the regular Saturday and Sunday services return to the traditional hymnal setting.
For those who cannot make it to the building, the Saturday night service is livestreamed on the church's Facebook page. Past worship videos also live on the church's YouTube channel, and weekly bulletins are posted online so anyone can follow the readings and prayers from home. Everything needed to follow along is in the printed bulletin, with a large print version available just outside the sanctuary and two large screens at the front of the church for those who prefer to read along.
Fellowship follows the Sunday morning service at 10:15 a.m., with coffee and cookies served in the gathering space, and the Sunday School hour for ages three through adult begins at the same time, running September through May. The congregation's welcome statement is plain about its openness: "This congregation is open to everyone regardless of race, ethnic background, sexual orientation, economic situation, age, or prior religious affiliation."
What to Expect When You Walk In
First-time visitors find handicap parking near the east entrance, and the building is wheelchair accessible. Ushers and greeters hand out bulletins, answer questions, and help anyone find a seat. There is no dress code: jeans and t-shirts, slacks and golf shirts, and suits and ties all appear in the pews. Parents are encouraged to bring their children into worship, even when it gets a little noisy, and most Sundays the children come forward for a short children's sermon. For restless little ones, colorful Busy Bags hang on coat racks just outside the sanctuary, filled with crayons, coloring books, and reading books.
Holy Communion is offered to all who are baptized. After the sermon and offering, ushers signal each row to come forward; worshippers may receive bread and a small cup of wine or grape juice standing in the center aisle, or kneel at the railing for the same gift. Children who do not yet commune are invited forward with folded hands to receive a blessing, and anyone unable to walk to the front can let an usher know so the pastor will bring the bread and wine to their seat. Worship bulletins, including large print versions, and the pastors' sermons also remain accessible online.
Children, Sunday School, and Friday Fun Club
Faith Lutheran describes itself as a family friendly congregation, and the Children's Ministry page lays out what that looks like in practice. Sunday School runs from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. September through May, with classes for toddlers through high schoolers, and parents are encouraged to attend alongside children through sixth grade so that faith conversations can continue at home. The Milestone Ministry gathers students in each grade with a pastor once a program year to mark a specific faith moment, and those students are then recognized during the 9:00 a.m. worship service on the same Sunday.
Each summer brings a week of Vacation Bible School for children age three through grade five, usually in a rotation format, and third graders receive their own Bible at the start of the Sunday School year. The church library cart sets aside a special shelf of children's books that families can borrow and return. Rising third through fifth graders can also attend a week of Junior Camp at Lutheran Lakeside Bible Camp near Spirit Lake, Iowa.
Faith Lutheran extends its reach to neighborhood children through Friday Fun Club, a partnership with Ed White Elementary just down the road. On the last early dismissal Friday of each month from 1:05 to 3:30 p.m., kindergartners through sixth graders walk from school to the church, where adult volunteers (with a few high school helpers) lead snack time, story time, crafts, science experiments, games, and music. Monthly pre-registration is required.
Confirmation, Youth Group, and the Mission Trip Tradition
Confirmation Conversations meet on Wednesdays during the school year from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. for students in grades seven and eight. Families take turns providing dinner at 5:00 p.m., and at 5:30 the students break into small groups with adult mentors and Pastor Carrie to work through Bible study, games, and life application. Each summer the same students can attend Confirmation Camp at Lutheran Lakeside Camp.
High schoolers meet on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. for Faith Youth Group, gathering for fellowship and conversation (the newsletter carries the current month's schedule). The summer brings a major trip: every third year the group joins the ELCA Youth Gathering, with recent stops in Houston and New Orleans in 2024; in other summers, the group plans a service learning mission trip. Recent destinations have included Alaska, Montana, Ontario, the Appalachian Mountains, New Mexico, Colorado, Denver, and New Haven, Connecticut.
The Noisy Offering and Global Mission
On the last weekend of every month, an empty food can makes its way down the aisle during the offering. Members drop their loose change into the can - the resulting clatter is the source of the name - and the proceeds go to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal, which funds relief and development projects in the United States and around the world.
Faith Lutheran's global partnerships reach further still. The congregation contributes $45 a month toward the work of missionaries Patrick and Jacqueline Bencke, who serve at Kyushu Lutheran College in Kumamoto, Japan. Members also sponsor two children through Compassion International: John Chima in Tanzania and Denisse Grefa, with another $45 a month supporting their living expenses and education. The companion church relationship is with Mruma Lutheran Parish in Tanzania, where Pastor Frank Kilango serves as the congregation's contact.
Locally, the ELCA Good Gifts program is offered in person during the Christmas season: worshippers choose an ornament symbolizing a needed item, place it on the tree, and drop a donation in the box. Past disaster responses have included Gulf Coast cleanup and construction after Hurricane Katrina and ongoing work with Hearts to Harvest, the local ecumenical growing project of Foods Resource Bank operated in partnership with St. Ann's Catholic Church that has funded seed adaptation in Kenya, a dairy cooperative in Bosnia, terracing projects in India, and agricultural recovery in Liberia.
The North Scott Food Pantry and Local Outreach
Faith Lutheran literally houses the North Scott Food Pantry. Volunteers from the congregation staff the pantry, and worshippers bring pantry items to church all year round. The pantry distributes on Tuesday evenings from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. and on Friday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., and the congregation regularly publishes a list of current needs. Hot or cold cereal, side dishes like Knorr noodle or rice packets, Rice a Roni, instant mashed potatoes, and stuffing mix have been among recent requests.
The church is part of CARELink, a coalition of Eldridge churches that coordinates emergency relief for food, gas, housing, prescriptions, and bus tickets when referred by a pastor from the North Scott Clergy Association. Members serve meals every other month at the Churches United Meal Site, hosted at Zion Lutheran Church in Davenport, and volunteer with Habitat for Humanity on home builds in the area. Faith Lutheran also hosts annual fall blood drives, opens its doors as a flu and pneumonia shot site for Genesis Medical Center, and supports the North Scott Community Feed Our Children summer ministry by collecting donations of food dated June 2027 or later.
Music in Worship
Music is woven into every weekend at Faith Lutheran. Jubilation, the contemporary band, leads several services a month and rehearses on Tuesday evenings. The People of Praise Choir, open to new singers and musicians from high school age up with no audition required, rehearses on Wednesday evenings from September through May in the choir room in the lower level of the newest addition. Resounding Joy, the chime choir, rehearses on Wednesday mornings and welcomes high schoolers and adults who can read music. A brass quartet and the Christmas Cantata round out the musical year, and soloists, duets, and instrumentalists are encouraged to share their gifts in worship.
Women of Faith and Quilts of Many Colors
Women of Faith gathers women of the congregation around fellowship, Bible study, and service projects. The Bible Study group meets on the fourth Thursday of the month from September through May (excluding December) at 6:30 p.m. at the church, working through the Women of the ELCA magazine, Gather. Quilts of Many Colors meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 9:00 a.m. to make quilts for people in need - no quilting experience required. Linda Szemkus leads the group as its current president.
Pastors, Staff, and Leadership
Senior Pastor Carrie Lewis La Plante, who grew up in Omaha and remains a Husker at heart, focuses her ministry on passing the faith from one generation to the next and on meeting the needs of people both within the congregation and beyond. She is married to Scott, a special education teacher in the Davenport Community School District, and they have two daughters, Abby and Madelyn. Associate Pastor Heather Geest supports the ministry alongside her.
Sue Becker serves as Music Director and Organist, Beth Ann Anderson as Office Administrator, and Dennis Kelly as Custodian. Mike Garner leads the Church Council as President; Annette Tomlinson is Vice President and chairs Faith Connections; Joni Kuehl-Schneider is Secretary and chairs Fellowship; Jerry Neff serves as Treasurer; Tom Carlson leads Service in the World; Nina Looney chairs Worship and Music; Michelle Rasmussen leads the Youth Committee; Randy Reimers chairs Property; Kim Wilkins chairs Stewardship; and Cindy Zabel leads Christian Education.
Beliefs and Becoming Involved
Faith Lutheran's mission is framed around three verbs that also shape the church's tagline, "Seek, Share, and Serve Christ." Members are called to share Christ's love and faith through words and actions, to seek God in worship, scripture, prayer, and forgiveness, and to serve all of God's creation through their time, talents, and resources. As a congregation of the ELCA, Faith Lutheran holds to the historic Lutheran principles: that salvation is by the grace of God alone, received through faith alone, and that the Bible is the only norm for doctrine and life.
Becoming involved is presented as an open door. Twice a year, in spring and fall, the pastors host informational gatherings that walk newcomers through the ministries of the ELCA, the Southeastern Iowa Synod, and Faith Lutheran itself. Anyone interested in joining from another Christian congregation is encouraged to let their previous pastor know, and anyone who has never been baptized or has been away from church for some time is invited to sit down with one of the pastors for a conversation about what it means to be connected to a faith community.