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To help celebrate this
35th anniversary in ordained ministry the Pastoral
Relations Committee asked me to write a brief history of
my career which actually spans 37 years; 2 years
licensed and 35 years ordained.
Though I
resisted the call to ministry as a young person the
whole idea of it was always in the back of my mind. One
of many things that confirmed it for me was when I gave
a sermon on Youth Sunday. I was 14 years old.
Afterward, my Sunday School teacher told me that if I
didn’t go into ministry I would miss my calling.
My first
pastorate was at Ripley Congregational Church (UCC)
outside Greenwich, Ohio. I was in seminary and looking
for opportunities to fill in (do pulpit supply). I just
wanted experience preaching. Ripley was in the midst of
a pastoral search. Over the course of six months I
preached there on three different occasions. Much to my
surprise, they issued a call for me to come and be their
pastor. I never expected the invitation but welcomed
it, became licensed by the Association and became their
pastor in May, 1973 at the age of 22. Then on June 15,
1975 I was ordained at Ripley and formally installed as
pastor.
In 1976 I
answered the call to serve a two-point charge west of
Akron, Ohio. I served both Mt. Zwingli UCC, Wadsworth
and Emanuel UCC, Doylestown. Emanuel was the home
church of St. Paul’s former pastor, Howard Poetter.
Howard’s brother Paul is still a member there. Their
father was pastor of Emanuel for decades and died while
serving that congregation.
While I was
there two great things happened. We doubled the size of
Emanuel’s building and the Mt. Zwingli church was
strengthened to the point that it could separate from
the charge. Mt. Zwingli then had their first full-time
pastor in their 125 year history. They both are strong
and great churches to this day.
In 1981 the
Ohio Conference of the UCC called me to become the
founding pastor of what would become the Eastgate UCC,
east of Cincinnati. As the congregation developed the
average age of the membership was 35. I knocked on
thousands of doors, working hard to build it to 99 adult
members. It was not an easy task. A number of years
after my departure the congregation unfortunately
disbanded.
In 1986 I
became pastor of Trinity UCC, Miamisburg. The
congregation grew larger while I was there. We added an
associate pastor. The congregation had been known for
its’ rocky relationship with its pastors and for often
firing them. (They had just fired the pastor previous
to me). The Association Minister hoped I could calm
them down and bring some healing to their life. After 9
½ years there I then received another call.
The Michigan
Conference of the UCC contacted me; though I wasn’t
searching for a new call. They invited me to submit my
resume to the Grosse Pointe Congregational UCC in Grosse
Pointe Farms, Michigan. The previous pastor had retired
after 23 years of service. Usually, when you follow a
lengthy pastorate it’s what clergy refer to as a
“kamikaze mission”; you don't last long. I became their
pastor in 1995 and lasted 12 years and 10 months; the
second longest pastorate in their history.
The pressures
and daily stress of metropolitan life (Grosse Pointe is
on the edge of Detroit) weighed heavy on us so we
decided we needed a change. God honored that need and
opened the doors for me to become your pastor. We are
grateful to be living in St. Marys and I am honored to
be your pastor.
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