Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
As I move toward the 40th anniversary of my ordination (June 9) and my last Sunday presiding and preaching as your Pastor (June 8), I thank God for you and for the ministry we have shared in the name of, and proclamation of Jesus.
During those four decades I have been blessed to share in the lives of the congregations with whom I have served, as well as the larger communities of which they have been a part. You have blessed me by opening your lives to me and allowing me to be who I am with you. You have humbled me in many ways, shown profoundly through your patience and your forgiveness.
Ministry happens when the Spirit works through those who are encountered by Jesus and in turn, seek to encounter the other in their midst. This happens in daily life, one on one and corporately as a community of faith.
I share some prayer petitions for all of us: that we continue to seek to be grounded in the Word, worship our Lord in community, work to embrace the diversity of those who God has created and strive to speak words and do that which reflects the one we follow.
If those words sound familiar, they are my paraphrase of the response of the baptized in the Rite of Affirmation of Baptism in Evangelical Lutheran Worship.
Finally, I thank Anne, Mark, Treiva and other family members who have shared with me this journey. Your partnership, love, patience and encouragement has been an abiding gift to me.
Know that I will continue to pray for you during this time of transition. The Spirit is always working and the proclamation of Jesus never ends.
In Christ,
Pastor Frank P. Kauzlarich