Pastor Christian’s Last(ing) Pastors’ Page
Grace to you and Peace from God the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Since my graduation from Owatonna Senior High School in 1995 I have not lived in the same place for more than two years. Living in the Salem Parsonage in Ironwood has been the longest stretch of living in the same place I have experienced in the last decade and a half. This holds true for Kateri as well. We are pilgrims, wanderers, refugees, sojourners. We make our dwelling for awhile and then we move on. This is the lifestyle to which we have eventually and grudgingly become accustomed.
In her life Kateri has moved much more frequently than I have. As the daughter of a Lutheran Pastor and the spouse of a Lutheran Pastor, she has been and will be on the move most all of her life. Living this way makes one realize just how temporary the things in life are and how quickly things change. It also makes one realize how beautiful and precious the people and relationships we have formed are to us.
The going out and coming in of this semi-nomadic way of life gives us a unique perspective. We have become more focused over the years on what is lasting. The things that last are faith, hope, and love. All else in life comes and goes. Eventually, it all fades away, but these three remain. Suffering comes and goes, the shock of tragedy wears off, conflicts are resolved, sins are forgiven, anger subsides, fear abates, sadness evaporates in the light of day, but through it all faith, hope, and love abide.
In every transition we see this more clearly. The anxiety of starting over gives way to the peace of settling in, and we know that it will start all over again. The faith, hope, and love we have been a part of and witnesses to here will remain with us and abide with us for that is what lasts. But the faith, hope, and love of God remain here as well. We share these from a source that runs deeper than the depths of Lake Superior and wider than the ocean. The source of these ever flowing fountains is vaster than time and space can measure. The source of our faith, hope, and love is so deep and wide that we can tap into it wherever we go.
Through this transition may you draw from God’s faith, hope, and love that He pours out so abundantly for you through His Son, Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit. May God’s faith, hope, and love inspire deeper cooperation, more lay led ministries, greater understanding of God’s mission, and a growing commitment to prayer and Bible study.
These are my hopes for you, and in order to realize these hopes I see that much transition is in store for you as well. You have in this transition an opportunity to be a part of what lasts. Pastors don’t last, buildings don’t last, but faith, hope, and love abide. God bless your pilgrimage and your ministry here as it is sustained by the things that last.
In Christ,
Pastor Christian
