Lutheran Church of Our Savior

Our Interim Pastor                                                                                             

I grew up on the Great Plains, in the fifth largest (14,007 people) metropolitan area in South Dakota – Watertown.  We lived on the edge of  “town”, and had a huge garden – or was it a small farm?  We had a tractor and a plow to turn the soil over in the spring.  My father ordered 1,000 tomato plants and 3,000 cabbage plants from Georgia every spring.  We also grew carrots, onions, cucumbers, squash, corn, beans, peas, beets, and potatoes.  The entire garden was surrounded by hundreds of peonies.

I enjoyed planting the corn and potatoes, because I did that with my father.  He dug the hole and I threw in a few kernels of corn or some old smelly potatoes cut up with “eyes” sticking out.  I did not enjoy weeding the garden.  In fact, the weeds usually won out toward the end of the summer, but the harvest was nonetheless bountiful and delicious.  Growing up, I never tasted sweet corn that was more than 15 minutes old.  My father picked the corn, I husked it, my mother cooked it, and we all ate it together.  My father would also take me with him to seine for minnows, or to go fishing and hunting.  While driving, my father quizzed me on what crop was growing in each field we passed.  He would point to the right or left and I would say:  corn, wheat, barley, flax, soy beans or rye.  The most difficult to distinguish were wheat and oats – they look so much alike.  My favorite crop was flax (linen is made from flax, as is the fine paper used for Bibles), because when it was in bloom it looked like a blue sea.

Joseph and Mary must have taught Jesus about agriculture because his parables were filled with images of “the farm” – mustard, sheep, grapes, goats, mint, wolves, wheat, doves, barley, dogs, olives, cows, and lilies.  My mother, Sunday School teachers, pastors, and professors taught me the parables of Jesus; but I came to understand his parables through what my father taught me in the garden and the fields.

I studied history at St. Olaf College in Minnesota and continued on at Luther Seminary in St. Paul.  While at seminary I organized a “summer internship” outside of Phoenix, doing youth work and going door to door, inviting people to “Come and See!” the new mission church.  I also served as “the Vicar” at Zion Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, New York for my official internship.  Those two places were very different, but both were filled with amazing, wonderful, and faithful members who were also my teachers.

I was ordained in January at my home congregation in South Dakota.  It was  -27 degrees (-69 degrees wind chill factor), and no one even suggested postponing the service.  St. John Mark Lutheran Church in Homestead (Pittsburgh), PA had called me as their Pastor, and I served there for 9 years.  Then Trinity Lutheran Church in North Bethesda, MD called me, where I served for 28 years until October 2018.  Both were places of faith, hope, love, and great joy for me.  After a year of retirement, the Interim Bishop of New York asked if I would serve as the Interim Pastor of Emanuel Lutheran Church, Pleasantville, NY – a delightful experience to share the good news of Christ in Westchester County with a wonderful congregation, even through the challenges and learning opportunities of a pandemic. 

Now I have begun a new adventure of faith in Christ Jesus – getting to know and love the people of the Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Port Washington.  I trust that we will laugh and cry, work and play, sing and pray together during this “in between” time for LCOS, as we continue to trust in God’s grace and mercy to lead us into a future of Spirit-led ministry.       

Michael L., Videographer 

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