Pastor's Minute

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PASTOR’S CORNER

Let me address “the elephant in the room” as I begin this month’s message to you. By now it would seem that nearly everyone knows bits and pieces of my plans to announce my retirement. The news of this has reached many ears very quickly and I want to make sure that the information is clear and accurate. How I wish the Gospel message would spread as quickly!

It is my intent to retire from full-time ministry among you at the end of December of this year. The Elders and I are in a process of working out details, but I am willing and available to serve beyond this date on a more limited part-time basis. Nothing is set in stone, but our timetable would be for a six-month transition period while the calling process for a new pastor proceeds onward. Sue has some major responsibilities as the LWML Regional Vice-President for the Minnesota North District for taking care of local arrangements for the District LWML convention which will be held in Grand Rapids June 22-24, 2020. First Lutheran is, actually, the host congregation. 

We hope that after this main event is over we can make a transition, leaving the Grand Rapids area after over 46 years and relocating to Detroit Lakes, MN. This is a nice central location which is closer to three of our daughters’ families. I have also served the congregation in Detroit Lakes for several months as a vacancy pastor during my first attempt at retirement (I keep flunking retirement). We feel quite confident that this will be a healthy move for us.

Speaking of health, this is a motivating factor in deciding to retire. As I have reached the age of 72 I am finding that the list of body parts that don’t work like they used to is getting longer. I was recently cleared of cancer concerns, but I still have lingering concerns about the condition of my pancreas. We are in a “watch and see” mode. In the meantime, the condition of my voice is not improving. All things considered, it seems that it is time to pull back and enjoy life at a more leisurely pace.

In preparation for this transition period, we are initiating the call process, taking care of some of the details and steps in the process prior to the end of the year. On October 22nd at 6:30 p.m. President Don Fondow of the Minnesota North District will preside over a pre-call meeting to outline the steps that follow. I encourage you to attend this meeting to be informed.

In the meantime, there is much work to be done. I don’t know how objective I can be, but I think that my time among you as pastor has been a time of stability and growth toward a healthy atmosphere at First Lutheran. There have been some exciting signs of this progress. The last thing we need is to go backwards in our willingness to serve, to grow, and to reach out to people we don’t even know yet. Let’s keep our eyes on the cross and keep being keenly aware of God’s hand leading us onward, trusting God to provide a faithful pastor to continue a vital and vibrant ministry to our community and to the uttermost parts of the world.