A set of circumstances that we considered to be more than a coincidence led us to look at the town of Thornville, Ohio. Grace Lutheran Church in that community was in need of a pastor, and the community and congregation seemed to us a good fit. Things progressed rapidly, and the congregation extended a call to me in November to serve as their pastor. We made preparations to move, and right after Christmas we made our way to our new home here in Ohio.
Packing up everything and moving over 900 miles was a stressful situation, especially in the midst of Christmas. Nevertheless, we had good opportunities to say goodbye, and we made the transition mostly seamlessly. We have been in this community for a little over six months, and we are now feeling quite settled. The kids made it through their first semester in their new school, and they seem to have adjusted well.
Grace Lutheran Church comes out of the German tradition, at one time a member of the old Joint Lutheran Synod of Ohio and Other States. It is a good congregation with many fine people. We have enjoyed our time here so far and foresee that to be the case into the future. There will always be a part of me that considers the western part of the Midwest to be "home," but it is fun to be in a little different part of the country and to develop some new connections on the eastern part of the Midwest.
I plan to use this blog to post my newsletter and other articles for this congregation as well as other documents of interest.