By Cathy Higgins

The members of Evangelical Lutheran Church of Our Saviour have a new place of worship.

“We are now meeting at the pavilion at Avalon United Methodist Church,” Evangelical Pastor Connie Bramlett said in a recent interview.

This past Sunday marked the second week the 100 members of the 60-year-old church met at the Gillionville Road location.

The membership moved to Avalon’s pavilion upon vacating the building, located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 82 and Hickory Grove Road in Lee County.

“We sold our old church,” Bramlett said of the building that the membership had worshiped in since 1999.

The sale, she explained, was in large part influenced by the downturn in the nation’s economy.

“I think all churches have been hit by the economy,” Bramlett said.

Because the sale has yet to be finalized, the pastor did not make details of the transaction available.

“It’s still in the process,” Bramlett said.

In the meantime, Evangelical is sharing space with the 150-member congregation at Avalon United Methodist Church and will continue to do so into the fall.

“They signed a six-month lease with us,” the Rev. Ken Myers of Avalon said.

That means Evangelical will meet in Avalon’s pavilion on Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights and some during the week through November.

According to Myers, the extra numbers is not a problem.

“It’s been a positive experience,” he said.

After all, Myers explained, sharing space is nothing new to Avalon.

“Typically, what happens is that we have groups rent out the fellowship hall for special events,” he said.

As for Evangelical, plans for a new permanent home have yet to be formed.

“We have not even talked about it,” Bramlett said.