From the Desk of the Interim Senior Pastor

I have enjoyed communicating with you through the medium of the church’s newsletter and thus is is with some sadness that I write my last article. Again, my last day with you will be October 1st.

I am most pleased that Pastor Brad Dayett was called to be the new Senior Pastor at Advent and that he accepted the call to serve here. As I said publicly before worship services, I do believe that he is the right pastoral fit for this congregation. I am very confident that he will lead and serve you quite well and will have a good working relationship with Pastor Andrew. They should make for a competent and committed pastoral team that will, through the power of the Spirit, really advocate the ministry and mission of this fine congregation.

As for me, I will be officially retired as of October 1. I Am happy to have concluded my active ministry with you. I am open to doing part-time ministry somewhere locally and will simply wait to see what the synod suggests to me.

As I depart, I want you to know that I really appreciated my time at Advent. Thank you for the warmest reception you gave both me and my wife, Christy, as we joined you in doing God’s work back in July 2023. Though the time may seem brief (even if it is in that average range for an interim pastorate) it has been a fine way for me to conclude my active ministry. I appreciate the facilities, the properties, the relatively close proximity to my home, and especially you, the warm and gracious people that worship and serve our Lord here. It was great worshiping and working with you, and I appreciate the help that I received from your staff — I especially note here full-timers Pastor Andrew, Carol Charles, and Haven Schneider. They were easy to work with and bring dedication and excitement to their work.

Over the course of my time at Advent I sought to bring a sense of stability and calm and believe we accomplished that together. I made some adjustments in our worship services, visitation programs, staff meetings, and so on that I believe benefited the congregation. I am pleased, too, that important matters such as updating the church constitution and personnel manual occurred during our time together.

I know it can be frustrating and sad for congregations when pastors come and go as we all do sooner or later. Even long-term pastors leave at some point. But the good news is that the greatest pastor, the perfect one, Jesus Christ, is here to stay. He is the head of the church, and we are the body. Stay Christ-focused and eagerly and joyfully engage in doing his work together. Through you the Spirit is accomplishing wonderful things and will continue to do so. Always turn to our Lord for guidance and direction in life. Remember the concluding words of Matthew’s gospel where we read from Jesus, “and remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” God bless you, and do remain our Lord’s faithful servants. I will always