A Dwindling Evangelical Lutheran Church Reaches Out to African Americans
RICHMOND — A woman of quiet faith on most days, Lucille Mills transforms each Sunday into the Rev. CeCee — a foot-stompin’ minister who can match hallelujahs with the best Southern preachers.
Like black ministers across Virginia, she aims to tap the energy of her church and direct it toward worship. But she’s an Evangelical Lutheran, and her tiny Chesapeake church is part of an effort to diversify the overwhelmingly white denomination, so closely identified with its German and Scandinavian roots.