Lou is being ordained? What? How?

Yes, you aren't the only one asking those questions. Probably most everyone who read my blog yesterday thought the same thing. We are sorry for keeping people somewhat out of the loop as this has developed -- it just seemed to make more sense to wait until it was a reality than speculate on what *might* happen *someday.*

Our family has always attended a Lutheran church. With his life-long love of history, particularly European history and the Thirty Years' War, Christian history was a natural thing for Lou to study; then theology followed. When he was named to the ELCA sexuality task force in 2002, he began to travel more and more to places where he might meet and talk with someone who might give additional insight into the things they were talking about on the Task Force. That meant he met a lot of people in the national church, pastors and teachers from all over the country; he began to write on chat boards and email lists (well, he spoke, I typed). As he spoke out more and more and was asked to serve on other committees in the church, he made friends with people the average person never would get to meet, and they kept in contact with him too. He left the Task Force after the August 2005 national gathering, but it was clear then that he/we could not be members of the ELCA much longer; the church had "left us." We tried a few things at our home congregation, but after several months it became clear that the pastor there was committed to the ELCA, and the majority of the congregation was committed to the pastor. And so we were without a congregation.

But we weren't the only ones. One day we received a call from some folks asking us to come and help start a new Lutheran congregation in Moses Lake. So we did and Living Word Lutheran Church was incorporated on Dec. 1, 2006, meeting as a house church. We literally met in someone's home for a year, then moved into a room at the local Christian school where we still gather each week. Long story short, after 3.5 years the families with children decided they needed a more consistent Lutheran voice in the pulpit and since Lou had always done a fair amount of the preaching since our beginning, they called him to Word and sacrament ministry here. We do also have a pastor who comes over from Spokane twice a month to preach; he will continue to do that for the immediate future. And Lou will not quit farming, but will be a bivocational pastor, which is becoming more of a trend as well. Or rather, less a trend than returning to the way it was done in the beginning of the church, we are told. Lou met Jim Nestingen, professor at Luther Seminary for a very long time before he retired a few years ago, during his task force years. When we saw him in April at a convention in Oregon where he said "if they call you, I will ordain you." And so he will, on July 10th.

1. What qualifies Lou Hesse to be ordained?
The call of the congregation, which has confirmed an internal call that has been building for a couple of years now.

2. Isn't ordination like a graduation, only taking place after a seminary education has been completed?
That is how it normally happens, not because it has to, but because all the national Lutheran denominations require a certain amount of education before they will certify someone as eligible for ministry in a congregational setting and placement on their clergy roster. Even in those denominations, however, a call from a congregation is the thing required for ordination. No call, no ordination.
With Living Word being an independent Lutheran congregation, we are not bound by a denomination's formal educational requirements in the person we call. Lou has not been formally schooled in theology, but he has read and studied volumes in the past 5-10 years and attended several courses, theological conventions, and continuing ed events for pastors. He has pastors from at least 3 different Lutheran denominations willing to continue to mentor him in the coming years. He will also begin coursework at the Institute of Lutheran Theology this fall (an online pan-Lutheran seminary), working toward a Masters of Divinity degree.

3. What is ordination then?
Ordination in the Lutheran church is nothing more than a public recognition that this person is the person chosen by the congregation to serve as pastor in this place. It is a "first installation." In Lou's case, it is likely his last installation as well since we don't forsee him serving any other congregation(s) after this one. [But you never know! :o)] Ordination in some other church traditions (Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Orthodox) means more than that, but in our understanding, nothing permanent changes after an ordination -- Lou will be no more holy on July 11th than he will be on the morning of July 10th!

4. Isn't this sort of sudden?
Sort of. Sort of not. His confirmation pastor told him he would be a good one to go into the ministry someday. We saw him in April and he still agreed, saying Lou had been in ministry for years already. Most pastors Lou talks with at the places he has been think he's a pastor already. The local ministerial association pastors have asked him why he wasn't one (when he attended meetings as our congregational chairman.) Many of the children at our church have considered him their pastor for 3 years. He has baptized two children. Someone at church asked me over 2 years ago if Lou wanted to be ordained. "No," I said, obviously not knowing then what 'ordained' really means, "he's a farmer." And so he is, and will continue to be. But the desire to preach the Gospel was there, and a need arose in the congregation for a preacher, and the people asked him to do this. When we were at Mt Carmel earlier this month for the ILT conference, the pastors there did a little 'sending ceremony' as part of the worship one evening. These are pastors he's known for years and who will continue to be his ministerium.

4. Isn't this sort of weird for you?
Yeah, sort of. I never planned on being a pastor's wife. How does that saying go? -- "We make plans, and God laughs" -- that's the one. Also, "God works in mysterious ways." Who wouldda thunk it? It seems Pastor Gross saw this coming a long time ago.