An anniversary
11/09/25 01:24
Yesterday was an anniversary day for me, although I didn’t celebrate with any events. Instead, I went about my usual routine, which involved a bike ride, writing a poem, taking a short nap, and going for a walk with my wife. I cooked dinner and spent a quiet evening watering the plants in our yard and catching up on some important emails.
On September 10, 1978, in a service of the Yellowstone Association of the Montana Conference of the United Church of Christ, I was ordained to the Christian ministry. At that same service, my wife, Susan, was also ordained.
Before ordination, we had both been examined by the Church and Ministry Committee to assess our preparedness for ministry. I presented proof of my academic preparedness to that committee, including a four-year undergraduate degree, a three-year Master of Divinity degree from an accredited theological seminary, and a professional doctorate also from an accredited seminary. The doctorate was not required, but it was presented as evidence that I had gone above and beyond the minimum requirements. I also presented and defended an ordination paper that described my call to the ministry and expressed my lifelong commitment to it. Also required was a call to ministry, in my case, a call to serve as the pastor and teacher of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Reeder, North Dakota, and First Congregational United Church of Christ in Hettinger, North Dakota.
After being examined by the Church and Ministry Committee, I was presented to and examined by a meeting of the Yellowstone Association for the purpose of examining my fitness for ministry. According to the faith and practice of the United Church of Christ, I presented my ordination paper. I answered questions from the gathering of representatives from the congregations in the association. The meeting required a quorum of churches to be represented, a gathering of clergy and lay persons at which the lay persons were the majority, and had to be preceded by an official notice to all of the congregations in the Association.
The service of ordination was also an official meeting of the Association, with a roll call of churches recorded by the Association's clerk. Special guests for the occasion and the preceding theological conference included Rev. Ross Snyder, professor of Christian Education at San Francisco Theological Seminary, and Rev. William Peterson, director of the Wholistic Health Care Center in Hinsdale, Illinois.
During the ordination service, there was an additional formal examination. I was asked to reaffirm my call to the Christian ministry and my acceptance of that call. I affirmed that I hear the word of God in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and that I accept the word of God as the rule of Christian faith and practice. I promised to be diligent in my prayers and study of scriptures as well as the public duties of my office. I promised zeal in maintaining the truth of the gospel and the peace of the church, and to speak the truth in love. I promised faithfulness in preaching and teaching the gospel, in administering the sacraments and rites of the church, and in exercising pastoral care and leadership. I promised to keep silent all confidences shared with me. I promised to regard all people with equal love and concern, and to minister to their needs. I accepted the faith and order of the United Church of Christ and promised to reach out ecumenically to all who are in Christ, showing Christina love to people of other faiths and people of no faith.
After my wife, Susan, was also examined with the same questions, the members of the Association were asked once again to declare worthiness for ordination and support of our ministries. We then knelt before the congregation and received the laying on of hands and the prayer of ordination. As we rose, we were vested with stoles, and our ordination was declared.
At the time, I planned to serve for three or four years as a local church pastor before entering specialized healthcare ministry. I had served an internship with the Wholistic Health Care Centers and believed that I would serve as a chaplain and pastoral counselor. The Centers, however, required pastoral experience in addition to certification as a licensed counselor before being eligible for full-time employment as a pastoral counselor. I set out to gain four years of experience. What followed, however, was a path of ministry that took a different course. I served seven years as co-pastor with my wife of the two congregations in North Dakota followed by ten years as co-pastor with my wife of a congregation in Boise, Idaho, followed by twenty-five years as senior pastor of a congregation in Rapid City, South Dakota, after which I retired, but came out of retirement to serve an additional two years as co-minister of faith formation with my wife at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Bellingham, Washington. Add up those years, and it took me 44 years in the parish to gain those 4 years of experience.
In retirement, I have maintained my full standing as an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ, fulfilling my continuing education requirements, submitting an annual report to the Committee on Ministry of the Pacific Northwest Conference, and participating in the conference's meetings. I occasionally provide pastoral support and pulpit supply to local congregations.
And, as I have been doing for 47 years, I revisit my ordination vows and re-commit to the promises I made at my ordination. I believe in keeping my promises, and I have no intention of breaking the ones I have made.
These days, my ministry is mostly writing with an occasional sermon delivered to a congregation to support an active minister who needs to be out of the pulpit for a vacation, illness, or other reason. There are a few more faithful words to come from me as I look back on the life I have lived. I am grateful for the congregations that have called me to serve and for their support of my ministries. I am grateful to the members of the Yellowstone Association who were diligent and faithful in their examination, ordination, and support of me. Most of all, I am grateful to God who called me to the ministry and whose presence continues to call me.
The celebration of the anniversary didn’t require any pomp or circumstance. As has been true for my whole life, the most important part of the day was prayer.
On September 10, 1978, in a service of the Yellowstone Association of the Montana Conference of the United Church of Christ, I was ordained to the Christian ministry. At that same service, my wife, Susan, was also ordained.
Before ordination, we had both been examined by the Church and Ministry Committee to assess our preparedness for ministry. I presented proof of my academic preparedness to that committee, including a four-year undergraduate degree, a three-year Master of Divinity degree from an accredited theological seminary, and a professional doctorate also from an accredited seminary. The doctorate was not required, but it was presented as evidence that I had gone above and beyond the minimum requirements. I also presented and defended an ordination paper that described my call to the ministry and expressed my lifelong commitment to it. Also required was a call to ministry, in my case, a call to serve as the pastor and teacher of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Reeder, North Dakota, and First Congregational United Church of Christ in Hettinger, North Dakota.
After being examined by the Church and Ministry Committee, I was presented to and examined by a meeting of the Yellowstone Association for the purpose of examining my fitness for ministry. According to the faith and practice of the United Church of Christ, I presented my ordination paper. I answered questions from the gathering of representatives from the congregations in the association. The meeting required a quorum of churches to be represented, a gathering of clergy and lay persons at which the lay persons were the majority, and had to be preceded by an official notice to all of the congregations in the Association.
The service of ordination was also an official meeting of the Association, with a roll call of churches recorded by the Association's clerk. Special guests for the occasion and the preceding theological conference included Rev. Ross Snyder, professor of Christian Education at San Francisco Theological Seminary, and Rev. William Peterson, director of the Wholistic Health Care Center in Hinsdale, Illinois.
During the ordination service, there was an additional formal examination. I was asked to reaffirm my call to the Christian ministry and my acceptance of that call. I affirmed that I hear the word of God in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and that I accept the word of God as the rule of Christian faith and practice. I promised to be diligent in my prayers and study of scriptures as well as the public duties of my office. I promised zeal in maintaining the truth of the gospel and the peace of the church, and to speak the truth in love. I promised faithfulness in preaching and teaching the gospel, in administering the sacraments and rites of the church, and in exercising pastoral care and leadership. I promised to keep silent all confidences shared with me. I promised to regard all people with equal love and concern, and to minister to their needs. I accepted the faith and order of the United Church of Christ and promised to reach out ecumenically to all who are in Christ, showing Christina love to people of other faiths and people of no faith.
After my wife, Susan, was also examined with the same questions, the members of the Association were asked once again to declare worthiness for ordination and support of our ministries. We then knelt before the congregation and received the laying on of hands and the prayer of ordination. As we rose, we were vested with stoles, and our ordination was declared.
At the time, I planned to serve for three or four years as a local church pastor before entering specialized healthcare ministry. I had served an internship with the Wholistic Health Care Centers and believed that I would serve as a chaplain and pastoral counselor. The Centers, however, required pastoral experience in addition to certification as a licensed counselor before being eligible for full-time employment as a pastoral counselor. I set out to gain four years of experience. What followed, however, was a path of ministry that took a different course. I served seven years as co-pastor with my wife of the two congregations in North Dakota followed by ten years as co-pastor with my wife of a congregation in Boise, Idaho, followed by twenty-five years as senior pastor of a congregation in Rapid City, South Dakota, after which I retired, but came out of retirement to serve an additional two years as co-minister of faith formation with my wife at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Bellingham, Washington. Add up those years, and it took me 44 years in the parish to gain those 4 years of experience.
In retirement, I have maintained my full standing as an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ, fulfilling my continuing education requirements, submitting an annual report to the Committee on Ministry of the Pacific Northwest Conference, and participating in the conference's meetings. I occasionally provide pastoral support and pulpit supply to local congregations.
And, as I have been doing for 47 years, I revisit my ordination vows and re-commit to the promises I made at my ordination. I believe in keeping my promises, and I have no intention of breaking the ones I have made.
These days, my ministry is mostly writing with an occasional sermon delivered to a congregation to support an active minister who needs to be out of the pulpit for a vacation, illness, or other reason. There are a few more faithful words to come from me as I look back on the life I have lived. I am grateful for the congregations that have called me to serve and for their support of my ministries. I am grateful to the members of the Yellowstone Association who were diligent and faithful in their examination, ordination, and support of me. Most of all, I am grateful to God who called me to the ministry and whose presence continues to call me.
The celebration of the anniversary didn’t require any pomp or circumstance. As has been true for my whole life, the most important part of the day was prayer.
