Dad told me on the day I was ordained - “You only need to do two things. Preach an interesting sermon, and make sure they know you love them.... And if they know you love them, the sermon doesn’t even have to be that good.”
We took we took dad to his home church's 90th anniversary over the weekend. Morningside Lutheran, Sioux City, IA, was founded by his parents and a number of their cousins and friends.
I found out that as a young man he taught confirmation, and the pastor gave him the worst boys in the class to mentor, hoping he'd be able to shape them up.
I also found out that for his first parish assignment after seminary, old President Gullickson brought him into his office and told him, "I'm sending you to a rough and tough congregation on the Canadian border of North Dakota. It's a three-point hillbilly parish that chews up and spits out pastors every couple years. I want you to buck those billy goats right back!"
Taking on a challenge. That was my dad.
He wanted to sleep in his boyhood house - still owned by his 96 year old sister Nell - so I went with and slept on the couch. Dad's memories are starting to fade. His focus is wearing out, along with his legs. We finally had to buy him a walker and a chair that helps him stand. He still has a twinkle in his eye, though, and loves to tell a story. The time back in his old hometown at his old church with his three kids and his only surviving sister was a real blessing.
When I was first told about the church reunion, I have to say I couldn't think of a worse way to spend a weekend.
Now that it's over, I couldn't think of a better way to invest a weekend.
