From the Pastor – June 2024
By the time that you read this it will have been a little over 11 months since we first installed Vicar Solomon here at Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church. Which means that we have less than one month to enjoy his company (or perhaps better said, the company of Mihoby, his wonderful wife). I know that it is hard to imagine that a year has already pasted so quickly, but I have found that the more the years slip away, the faster they go slippin’.
Personally, it has been an absolute godsend to have Vicar Solomon here the last calendar year. As many of you know, my family has gone through a couple of different medical difficulties. Between the expected, yet absolutely taxing, heart-surgery of Emmaus and Joy’s unexpected gallbladder surgery, it has been a blessing to be able to know that sermons were still going to be preached and Bible Studies were still going to be taught. So, yes, from a very selfish perspective, I am going to be sad to see Solomon and Mihoby leave.
From a congregational perspective, things are going to be a little different as well. Having one individual in the chancel instead of two is going to take a bit to get used to on Sunday mornings. Also, all of those who have been blessed enough to attend the mid-week Bible Study will once again be forced to listen to me, as Solomon had taken over the duties of that particular Bible Study almost as soon as he got here. It has truly been a blessing to see him get more and more comfortable teaching God’s holy Word.
Part of a pastor’s educational and practical formation is his vicarage year. This gives him the opportunity to try things he has never done before (VBS), become more accustomed to the weekly schedule of a congregation (sermon prep, choosing hymns, visiting shut-ins), and understanding the temporal workings of the pastor/congregation relationship (working with a secretary, attending council meetings, teaching catechism). In layman’s terms, think of this past year as an internship for Solomon, only now he gets to ruminate on these last 12 months (the things he has learned/the things he would do different) for his last year of seminary before he gets a call of his own. … I, for one, have seen marked improvement in a number of different areas and am looking forward to see the pastor that Solomon will become.
With all of that said, our time together is short, shorter than it feels like it should, and so I encourage you to tell Vicar and his wife what they have meant to you over the last year. Yes, we will have a great send off with presents and gifts on the last Sunday in June, but there is something to be said about a personal handshake and a hand written letter. If it fancies you, take him out to lunch before he goes, or have the two of them over for dinner. These things, too, are things of the Church, part of the mutual consolation of the saints, and it is good that we engage in them.
At the end of the day, all that is given me to say is, “Godspeed, Solomon and Mihoby. May the Lord continue to bless and keep you, Solomon, in your preparation for the Office of the Holy Ministry. May He guard you both from all harm and protect you from all adversity. In a close to a year a lucky congregation will get to call you their pastor and you will get to call them your congregation. It’s a blessing unlike any other, and I wish you both the best.”
Rev. Eli
