May 31 Greetings

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May 31 Greetings

As I shared on Sunday morning…. I have some news, that is both full of joy, adventure and we’ll throw in some grief for good measure!

I have received and accepted a call to be a Senior Pastor of a United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan, beginning July 1. It has been a tough discerning process, but my family and I are excited to move to be near our many relatives in Michigan and to go back full-time into the church pastorate. I also have family in western New York that we will be able to see as well.

We originally moved to Arizona 13 years ago to care for my wife’s father, and eventually we cared for her grandfather (on her mother’s sided) in our home as well. Also during that time, my daughter's cousins have graduated high school and moved on as well. Our season in Arizona, it seems, has come to a close. We are returning from whence we came. I previously served for eight years with the United Methodist Church in Michigan, and that is still my “home conference,” as I finished my ordination there, and had experience as both an associate and senior pastor during that time. Shannon was born in the Lansing, MI area, and had relatives across the state. My mother-in-law travels to Michigan frequently, so we will see her plenty, which is good news for Lilyan to stay connected to her MeeMee!

My ministry with Emmanuel has been a blessed eight years! Our daughter was baptized in the church, and I’ve had the privilege of serving in many capacities within the congregation. My work with ELC has honestly continued to remind me of my initial calling into the ministry, and that at any moment I could step back into full-time parish life.

As we began to explore in that direction, we were searching for the right and hopefully most opportune place to allow Lilyan to finish her schooling years. We entertained offers from both western New York and Michigan, and landed in Ann Arbor, which is in the southeastern section of the state. It’s about a 5 1/2-hour drive through Canada over to Buffalo, where my mother “snowbirds” between there and South Carolina.

God’s grace continues to be evident to me at ELC in the people, their love for outreach and desire to be a healthy church. The future is wide open, as this area only continues to grow, with both retired Lutherans moving here, along with families and children.

In my closing time here, I will continue to work with the task forces of our “Inclusivity Team” (formerly LGTBQIA+) and the Pre-school research team. Both groups are exploring ideas to expand the ministry of ELC. And Pastor Tricia and others have promised to carry on that good work. I will be bringing some of that work along with me, as the church I’m headed to has been a reconciling congregation for a while, but they are also searching for ways to take that hospitality to the next level. They fortunately already have a preschool on site! I’m also going to introduce them to the idea of a “spring/summer fling,” as well!

The good people of Emmanuel have left quite an imprint on my heart. I will be looking for your clones in the next church! Thank you for your incredible and infectious hospitality! My family is very thankful for your grace and acceptance of us through the years. We hope and pray for the best for ELC in the years to come!

So…the moving truck arrives June 22! Time flies when you’re packing boxes in a hurry! The conference will be providing the moving truck, and we will hit the road—taking probably four days to make the trip, looking for motels that take dogs along the way!

Right now, I am counting on the following verse:

“Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.”

Exodus 23:20

And I claim this verse for us all!

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

Isaiah 43:18-19