A local pastor who casually told his members that the church would find a way to pay for a tattoo of its logo if anyone wanted to get inked, soon learned he had more than a few takers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a very minor part of the sermon that day, and I really didn\u2019t think anyone would take me up on it,\u201d said the Rev. Zach Zehnder of a sermon he gave on Feb. 23, which touched on cultural differences. \u201cAfter the service, I had a few people come up and tell me they wanted to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
The 30-year-old father of two was both surprised and a little taken aback.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first I had to think and pray about it,\u201d said Zehnder, who leads The Cross Mount Dora, a nearly three-year-old Lutheran congregation with about 250 members. \u201cBut I made a promise, and I had to back it up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, more than a dozen members of Zehnder\u2019s congregation have received a tattoo of the church\u2019s colorful logo, a cross inside a series of circles, at Bill Gold\u2019s Tattoo Studio 441 in Eustis.<\/p>\n
Church member Laura Whittlesey, a recovering alcoholic who recently turned 50, got a logo tattoo on her ankle, while her son, William Trigg, 26, got one on his arm. Whittlesey said the decision to get her first tattoo was easy because the church has helped her maintain sobriety and welcomed her without judgment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s my first tattoo,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I feel very strongly about the church and the people there, so I was very happy to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tattoos have caused some discourse on area message boards and social media sites, but Zehnder, who holds a masters of divinity degree from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo., said he doesn\u2019t believe there\u2019s anything wrong with tattoos, theologically or Biblically.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some who aren\u2019t too excited about the tattoos,\u201d he said. \u201cBut Christians can have differences of opinion and still unite to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Realtor Holly Stratton, who has belonged to the church for more than a year, the decision to get a tattoo was easy and her way of showing solidarity with a congregation she\u2019s grown to love.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a way of rallying around the church and its common beliefs,\u201d said Stratton, 49. \u201cThe church is great, it\u2019s relatable and it\u2019s exciting to go there every week.\u201d<\/p>\n
[Keep reading. . .]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Members of the Cross in Mt. Dora, Florida, a congregation of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, are getting tattoos of their church\u2019s logo:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1350,2154],"class_list":["post-18372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church","tag-lutheranism","tag-tattoos"],"yoast_head":"\n
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