Attending a dedication service at Holy Cross Lutheran Church of Scott County on Aug. 1 are, front from left, the Rev. Joshua Haugen, the Rev. Jordan McKinley, the Rev. Ken Davidson, the Rev. Adrian Krebs, the Rev. Daniel Brege and the Rev. Zack Huffman, and back from left, the Rev. Ralph Blomenberg, the Rev. Craig Muhlbach, the Rev. Ed Keinath and the Rev. Andrew Currao.

The mission plant and future congregation of Holy Cross Lutheran Church of Scott County recently gathered along with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to dedicate their new church home.

The new church building is located at 200 N. Washington St., Scottsburg. That formerly was the site of a Wesleyan church, which closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before becoming a Wesleyan church, the building was founded and built in 1950 as a Pilgrim Holiness church.

The people of Holy Cross became aware of the building when a new family began attending services that had former ties to the Wesleyan church. That family currently is becoming members and will attend new member classes this fall. The building currently is being leased from an individual owner with the option to purchase.

The dedication service Aug. 1 was attended by nearly 100 people from the local community as well as sister congregations from the Seymour circuit. The Rev. Adrian Krebs of Lord of Life Lutheran Church in North Vernon serves as the pastor for the mission plant and was honored to plan and lead the dedication service as the presiding minister.

The Rev. Daniel Brege, president of Indiana District Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, served as preacher, and the Rev. Ralph Blomenberg of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour and the Rev. Andrew Currao of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Seymour served as assistants throughout the service.

The Rev. Ed Keinath of Crosslife Ministries and retired pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Jonesville and the Rev. Craig Muhlbach of St. John’s Lutheran Church Sauers served as lectors.

Holy Cross began as a mission plant in August 2014 after the only Lutheran congregation in Scott County, Bethel Lutheran Church, closed in Austin.

The people of Holy Cross met for most of those seven years in a government-owned facility in Scottsburg but were forced to use a tent in the summer of 2020 due to the pandemic, which shut down all government facilities.

For the last six years, Krebs has served the people at Holy Cross. Before 2015, Blomenberg, Currao, Keinath and Muhlbach were very much involved in serving on a rotation. The Rev. Joseph Barlau, who recently accepted a call to serve a congregation in Kansas, also was a part of that rotation but was not able to be at the dedication service.

The Rev. Ken Davidson of Emanuel Lutheran Church in Dudleytown, the Rev. Joshua Haugen, chaplain for Trinity Lutheran High School, the Rev. Zack Huffman of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Seymour and the Rev. Jordan McKinley of Trinity Lutheran Church in Vallonia also were in attendance.

Music for the service was provided by Ross Rieckers and Marianne Wischmeier, and Jacob Krebs served as acolyte.

A meal was catered after the service by Bob and Kev’s BBQ, a Scottsburg-based food vendor.

Holy Cross has a regular service at 11 a.m. Sundays. All are welcome.