St. Mary’s Lutheran Church leads a collaborative effort of other ELCA Lutheran congregations in Kenosha (St. Paul’s, St. John’s, Grace, Trinity, Lord of Life and Holy Nativity) to form a new mission start Kenosha Outreach West in the Kenosha area west of Green Bay Road.
Founding Pastor Larry Harper renames Kenosha Outreach West to Spirit Alive! and holds the first worship services at the RecPlex in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.
Spirit Alive! outgrows the allotted space at the RecPlex and begins worshipping in the cafeteria of Pleasant Prairie Elementary school.
Founding members of Spirit Alive! Church approve their Constitution and Bylaws, sign the charter and vote to organize as a congregation of the ELCA.
ELCA Milwaukee Synod officially receives and welcomes Spirit Alive! as a new congregation.
Spirit Alive bids farewell to Pastor Larry.
Spirit Alive calls Rob Zahn as its new pastor.
Pastor Rob leaves Spirit Alive! to take a new call in the Detroit area.
Jennifer Carlson accepts a call to become the new pastor for Spirit Alive!. She brings a passion for nurturing and expanding Spirit Alive’s! efforts at reaching out and serving the community, particularly the ELCA Outreach Center in Kenosha.
Spirit Alive! signs a 3-year space sharing agreement with St. Paul’s substantially solving a nagging setup and teardown issue that had plagued Spirit Alive! in other rental spaces.
Jennifer Carlson leaves Spirit Alive! to take a new call.
Sue Ruehle joins Spirit Alive as interim pastor.
Cindy Aasen joins Spirit Alive as interim pastor.
Kevin Beebe accepts call to become the new full time pastor for Spirit Alive! Pastor Kevin is driven by an understanding that God’s Love is constantly breaking into our lives, pulling us into deeper relationship with the Divine and the rest of creation. He is drawn to the ways God’s grace trusts us into the world to live out God’s justice and proclaim that the Kin-dom is at hand.
Spirit Alive! is on the move again, landing in our new location at Wesley United Methodist Church located at 4600 60th Street in Kenosha. Our first worship service at this new location is September 10th, 2023. This is an exciting time for collaboration and growth in our parish.
As we start the new year, our worship services will look a little different as we say a fond farewell to Pastor Kevin as he and his family move to Bellingham, Washington. We will rely on pulpit supply as we hear from a myriad of pastors from all over SE Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. While the pastors may be unfamiliar to us, service will still feel the same. Familiar faces, in the form of SALT members, will be leading the service, greeting the congregation, and taking prayers of the people. It's a new and exciting time for our congregation.
Maddy Tyler joins Spirit Alive as transition pastor.