Category: Ministry

Some of you may have heard already, but for those who haven’t…

I have decided to accept the call to serve at Trinity in El Paso, Texas. Now my mind is swimming with all the things to think about and decide as I prepare to leave Modesto and St. Peter. I’ll just say it’s going to be a challenging month to come. Right now I won’t go into all the things that I’m going to miss about this place—maybe later.

At the same time though, I’m really looking forward to what lies ahead of us in El Paso. And I won’t go into all of that now, either, but I should have plenty of time to do that later on.

Speaking of writing, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to post here more regularly now that my decision is made. I started a few things in the past weeks, but never could get them finished. But I’ll be back at it soon. I’ll keep you up to date on our plans. I’ll write about some things I’ve been working on. Hopefully, I’ll also have some new readers from El Paso in the coming months.

Over the past week or so there have been so many things that would have been worth writing about, but with everything going on I just didn’t have the time or attention to do it. What I’m going to do now is just make a list of all the activity. If you need more info on any of these, leave a comment.

• Sudden cancellation of Issues, etc. This was a good, Lutheran radio show that I listened to via podcast. The situations surrounding the show’s cancellation are mysterious, to say the least. It has sparked a great deal of controversy among those who listened to the show. I’ll miss listening to it; I hope something comes along to take its place.
• Maundy Thursday, stripping of the altar, Psalm 88
• Good Friday Service of Darkness, Psalm 22, Psalm 51, Isaiah 55 (Quaerite Dominum…), Lord, let at last your angels come…
• Drive to San Jose to pick up Seminarians (Saturday), getting lost in San Jose, late night…
• Sunrise Service, beginning outside at sunrise, Seminary brass quartet, Paschal candle, choir, Psalm 118…
• Seminary Chorus concert: edifying and refreshing, memories from my years in the chorus came flooding back, good to see and talk with the men…
• Easter Monday, catch-up on things waiting until after Easter, Stockton Children’s Museum, sick calls…
• Call deliberations continue: calling, discussing, thinking, praying…

As many of you have already heard, I received a Call to serve as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in El Paso, TX. At this point I don’t have many details, and during this week I will be trying to focus on preparations for and observation of Holy Week here at St. Peter. I would appreciate your prayers during this time.