WELCOME TO MANDARIN LUTHERAN CHURCH

MLC Lenten Invitation

Please Join us on Wednesday for soup and supper at 6pm followed by worship at 7pm.

Join us for the Places of the Passion special service for Week 5 of Lent, as we follow in the footsteps of our Savior, contemplating the places where Jesus stood on his path to salvation. In this service, we go to Pilate’s Judgment Hall, where Pilate is positioned here to set Jesus free, but turns him over to be crucified instead. We are called to remember that the judgment that should have been placed on us was placed on him that we might be free.

Meet Pastor Lori Fuller

Pastor Lori Fuller is a graduate of Luther Seminary and was ordained on February 27th, 2022. Born Deaf, Lori grew up without access to or understanding the Love of God. Thanks to a multi-denominational church in Wisconsin, she fell in love with God and felt the calling to bring God’s Love to others in the Deaf Community. Lori is the founding pastor of Palms Deaf Church (PDC) in Palm Coast, Florida. PDC works to change the statistics of where 95-98% of Deaf people are unchurched, and there are almost one million Deaf people in Florida. PDC will help meet this need by offering a hybrid ministry.
This Sunday, March 26th at 9am we have the distinct pleasure of Pastor Lori Fuller, PDC to officiate at our Worship Service assisted by Pastor Enderle.
PDC was established in 2021 by Pastor Lori Fuller who has been deaf since birth. Lori received a Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary in June of 2021 and is working with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Florida Bahamas Synod, and St. Mark by the Sea Lutheran Church in Palm Coast, Florida.
After the Worship Service we will have a reception for Pastor Fuller in the Fellowship Hall. Pastor Fuller will graciously answer any of our Congregations Questions regarding Palms Deaf Church and our possible participation in ministry to the deaf and hard of hearing..

MLC Lenten Invitation

Please Join us on Wednesday for soup and supper at 6pm followed by worship at 7pm.

 

Join us for the Places of the Passion special service for Week 4 of Lent, as we follow in the footsteps of our Savior, contemplating the places where Jesus stood on his path to salvation. In this service, we go to The Courtyard, outside of where Jesus is put on trial before the high priest and where Peter denies Jesus. We are called to confess that we often tend to distance ourselves from Christ, when we should be drawing closer to him.

MLC Lenten Invitation

Please Join us on Wednesday for soup and supper at 6pm followed by worship at 7pm.

 

Join us for the Places of the Passion special service for Week 3 of Lent, as we follow in the footsteps of our Savior, contemplating the places where Jesus stood on his path to salvation. In this service, we head toward Gethsemane, where Jesus is betrayed and arrested in this garden under cover of darkness. We witness Jesus being taken away by soldiers, but we know that his journey toward the cross will take away our sins.

MLC Lenten Invitation

Please Join us on Wednesday for soup and supper at 6pm followed by worship at 7pm.

 

Join us for the Places of the Passion special service for Week 2 of Lent, as we follow in the footsteps of our Savior, contemplating the places where Jesus stood on his path to salvation. In this service, we go to the Mount of Olives, where Jesus went with his disciples to pray. We are called to find places to pray this Lent and seek the will of the Lord in our lives.

MLC- The First Ten Years

The First Ten Years of Mandarin Lutheran Church

Incorporated in 1985, Mandarin Lutheran Church has been a part of the Mandarin Community for 37 years. From our humble beginnings, worshipping at the Catholic Center in Mandarin, to our current 3.6 acre property on San Jose Boulevard, MLC has grown and continues to be a church who welcomes all.

 

brochure announcing the formation of a new church in Mandarin, Jacksonville, Florida

Invitation to join Mandarin Lutheran Church

In the early 1980s, the American Lutheran Church sent a young pastor, Lee Magneson, to begin a new Lutheran church in Mandarin. Joining Pastor Lee were his wife, Julie, and their young children, Robbie and Missy. Pastor Lee immediately began calling on virtually every household in Mandarin to introduce himself and Mandarin’s new church, known then as the Lutheran Ministry of Mandarin.

 

 

 

 

 

First worship service at MLC

The first worship service of the young congregation was held January 6, 1985, at the Catholic Center at the northeast corner of Old. St. Augustine and Greenland Roads. The Diocese of St. Augustine generously allowed the congregation to meet there until they had a building of their own. Marilyn Whitford’s family was among those who attended services at the Catholic Center.

 

 

 

 

 

The future site of Mandarin Lutheran

In December 1985, the church was incorporated as Mandarin Lutheran Church and 11 months later it closed on 3.6 acres at the present location.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fellowship Hall Groundbreaking- 1987

Those shown in this photo include Pastor Lee Magneson (far left) and Pastor Dave Winter (second from right). In 1987, construction was completed on the current Fellowship Hall. It served as a multi-purpose facility for MLC and was also rented out to Merry Pat’s Preschool during the week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday service at MLC

Holding two Sunday services (8:00 and 11:00), with Sunday School in between, presented logistical challenges. Each Sunday morning the space had to be changed from the preschool arrangement to church seating, to Sunday School configuration, back to church seating and, finally back to the preschool setup. With many willing hands, the transformation could be accomplished in surprisingly short order.

 

 

 

 

 

Sanctuary Groundbreaking

It was a happy day when construction began on the new sanctuary and an even happier one when it was ready for worship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dedication service for Mandarin Lutheran

The dedication service was attended by the Bishop of the Florida-Bahamas Synod, local Lutheran pastors and Protestant and Jewish clergy from Mandarin. The stained-glass windows had not been installed yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early services at MLC

Initially there were no pews, and the chairs were arranged in a semi-circular pattern facing the altar. Pews were later acquired from a Baptist church in the Southside Estates area that was, ironically, replacing them with chairs.