In March 2022, Forward in Christ introduced readers to Lawrence and Caroline McCatty, a couple from Gloucester, England. While in the United States for Lawrence’s job, they discovered the truth of God’s Word at a small WELS church in Maryland and became Lutherans. When they returned to England, the McCattys joined a small group that worshiped monthly in the London suburbs with the WELS European civilian chaplain. They were anticipating the arrival of a full-time WELS missionary to the United Kingdom (UK).

Where are they now?

Now instead of traveling on a four-hour or more round trip to London for worship once a month, the McCattys are driving a little more than an hour north of Gloucester to Essington, Wolverhampton, where a small WELS group worships weekly. This church, Holy Word, is connected to another WELS church in London of the same name, led by WELS missionary Michael Hartman.

And the leader of the church in Essington? Lawrence McCatty.

“If you would have said to me as recently as last year, ‘By this time next year, you’ll be leading weekly services in the church in [Essington],’ I would have said, ‘Yeah, that’s never going to happen. How’s that going to happen?’ ” says Lawrence. “But never limit God’s hand.”

Lawrence says he can see God’s hand when looking back at his life and how it connected to WELS mission work in the UK. Regular weekly worship at Holy Word in London began in June 2023 at the oldest Lutheran church in the UK—St. George’s, Aldgate. Soon after, a WELS family volunteered to host weekly worship in their home—the start of Holy Word in Essington. A retired WELS pastor spent six months establishing the congregation and leading worship there. When the retired pastor returned to the US, the small congregation of about 12 members continued to meet weekly. A WELS missionary led worship once a month, while lay leaders—one of them, Lawrence—held services for the remaining weeks.

“Being a lay leader was fine, however, I wanted to do the best I could for God and the congregation,” says Lawrence, who at that point had recently retired from his job. “I love Scripture, I love God, I love Jesus. And, well, this was an opportunity to find out more about all of those things.”

He shared his desire with Hartman to learn more. Hartman connected him to the Pastoral Studies Institute, a joint program between WELS Joint Missions and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis., that provides theological training to North American students from a variety of countries and cultures. Now Lawrence is studying to become a pastor while also serving the congregation in Essington.

Lawrence takes classes online with other students who now live in North America but originally came from Africa and East Asia. “We’re building up these relationships with brothers in Christ who are going through the same training, which will serve us all in good stead in years to come,” he says.

He’s also gaining practical experience by leading weekly services, writing two sermons a month (with feedback from various WELS pastors), developing and leading Bible classes, and planning outreach events. He works closely with Hartman to coordinate worship services between the two locations, allowing them to share resources.

While continuing to take classes, Lawrence also has big plans. The congregation in Essington is holding outreach events to connect with more people in that community. Lawrence also wants to reach out in Gloucester, where he lives, to gauge the possibility of starting mission work there.

Though the events of this past year have been unexpected, Lawrence wouldn’t trade them for anything. He says, “Learning more about God’s Word is a delight, an honor, and a privilege.”

Read more about Lawrence’s journey into the ministry. Also check out the article about how he and Caroline became Lutheran.