On Sunday, November 19, I received a Divine Call to serve at Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wautoma, Wisconsin. Below are letters I composed. The first is a letter of acknowledgement which was sent to Peace in Wautoma and was read at Good Shepherd on Sunday, November 26. Below that is a letter sent to the members of Good Shepherd to explain what receiving a Divine Call means and what it does not. Comments, words of insight, and prayers are welcome.
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Greetings
in the name of our Savior.
Dear
members of Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church,
I
am writing to acknowledge that on Sunday, November 19, I received a Divine Call
to serve as your pastor. I thank you that you have considered me for
this high privilege.
For
the past 27 years, I have had the privilege of serving at Good Shepherd
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Novi, Michigan (metro Detroit). Over the next few weeks, I will be
considering the challenges and possibilities of each congregation, as well as
my own strengths and weaknesses, so that I may determine, to the best of my
ability, where I may serve the Lord’s kingdom best.
My
wife, Laura, our family, and I welcome your prayers and your insights.
My
contact information is:
Cell phone (call or text) (248)
719-5218
Email welsnovi@aol.com
Mailing
address: 41441 W. 9 Mile Road
Novi, Michigan 48375-4306
God
bless and keep you.
In Christ,
Pastor Thomas E. Schroeder
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Greetings
in the name of our Savior.
On
Sunday, November 19, I received a Divine Call to serve at Peace Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Wautoma, Wisconsin (about 90 miles north of Madison).
The
last time I held a call to another congregation was back in
2008. Since it has been over 15 years since Good Shepherd has
experienced its pastor deliberating a call to another congregation, I thought
it would be worthwhile to alert you to the calling process, what it means, and
what it does not mean.
The
calling process: In
our synod, district presidents (similar to bishops) will assemble a list of
candidates at the request of a congregation who is seeking a pastor, perhaps
because the pastor from that congregation retired, died, resigned, or accepted
a call elsewhere. He presents the vacant congregation with a list of
pastors who are eligible to receive and consider a call to that
congregation. The congregation does not go hunting for their own
pastor or put out feelers for applicants. We draw from within our
own synod so that the doctrine and practice remain confessionally
Lutheran. Of the people on the list of potential pastors, Peace
Lutheran Church in Wautoma selected me.
When
a call is extended, the Holy Spirit works through a congregation to find a man
who will serve them. The call that Good Shepherd has extended to me
has not been terminated; the call to Peace has been
added. Therefore, I am currently holding calls to two places where
I may serve as a pastor—Good Shepherd in Novi and Peace in
Wautoma. The Holy Spirit is allowing me to decide where I can serve
his church. While neither decision would be sinful, I pray that the
Lord makes it clear which decision serves his kingdom best.
What
it does not mean:
It does not mean that I have to move. These are not
marching orders. It does not mean that I am looking for reasons to
leave or that I am unhappy serving where I am. I did not submit my
name to be considered for the call list for Peace Lutheran Church or for any
other list. For all I know, my name has been on several lists over
the past few years but was never selected. There are currently about
190 pastoral vacancies across our synod, so the fact that a congregation called
me was practically inevitable. For what it is worth, Peace Lutheran
Church in Wautoma has been without a pastor for just over a year, and a retired
pastor is covering the services there.
What
it does mean: Over
the next few weeks, I will be communicating with people from Wautoma as well as
from our congregation and others in the area to determine where I might best
serve in God’s kingdom. I welcome your prayers and your
thoughts. If you have questions about the calling process, I will
gladly answer them for you.
I
don’t have a deadline right now for when I would announce a
decision. Usually, decisions are formed in about a month’s time
(enabling me to assess challenges and possibilities in both locations, as well
as how my own strengths and weaknesses come into play), but that puts us right
up to Christmas which might affect that timing. I will not let any
announcement detract from the Christmas celebration. Our focus
should be on the Christ child, not on me.
I
should also note that, as I deliberate, I will be making comments which may
sound like I am staying or that I am going. Please don’t draw any
conclusions by those comments. It is just part of how I deliberate
as I consider plans as if I were going and as if I were staying.
Once
again, I welcome your insights and your prayers.
God
bless and keep you.
In
Christ,
Pastor
Schroeder
