Every spring, a group of us trade our Sunday best for golf shirts and head out to the fairway — and honestly, it might be one of my favorite days of the year.
On April 13th, Emmanuel was once again represented at the sixteenth annual Spring Golf Outing benefiting Agapé Kure Beach Ministries, held at Lochmere Golf Club in Cary, NC. For several years now, we’ve sent a team — sometimes two! — to this event, and every year I am reminded of why it matters so much.
First, the numbers: 82 golfers. 29 sponsors. Over $17,500 raised in a single day. That’s not a mulligan — that’s a ministry.
But here’s what those numbers actually mean. Agapé Kure Beach Ministries is committed to never turning a child away from camp due to a lack of financial resources. Every dollar raised on that golf course is a week of singing around a campfire, growing in faith, making lifelong friends, and experiencing something that can only be described as holy — for a kid who might not otherwise get to go. That’s worth a few hours in a golf cart, I think.
This is also one of my favorite examples of what it looks like to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Emmanuel isn’t just a congregation doing our own thing in our corner of High Point. We are part of the NC Synod of the ELCA — a larger family of churches, camps, and ministries all working together to live out God’s love in the world. Supporting events like this Golf Outing is how we stay connected to that bigger picture, one fairway at a time.
So thank you to everyone from Emmanuel who has joined us out on the course over the years. You have helped make this event — and this ministry — a success.
Next year’s outing returns to Lochmere Golf Club in Cary on April 12th, 2027 — and we’d love a bigger team. Partly because it’s a great day for a great cause. And partly because, as the defending champions, we could use some reinforcements. Just saying.
See you on the back nine.