Hello,
This past week I learned that my internship supervisor died. Thirty-three years ago he took me under
his wing for a year, patiently taught me from his years of experience, and I am
sure that on more than one occasion swallowed hard and let me learn from my
mistakes. Thanks, George.
The last time I saw George was in June, 1983 when he came to be part of
my ordination. He was one of the
many pastors who placed their hands on my head and prayed for me as I began my
pastoral calling. Since then our
paths have never crossed. I heard
that he left the parish ministry and went on to serve God as a Nursing Home
director. I have gone on to serve
churches in suburban St. Paul, urban Toledo, small town Ohio, downtown Sioux
Falls, rural Sioux Falls area, and a county seat in S.W. Pennsylvania.
George taught me a lot of things that have served me well over these
three decades of pastoral ministry and in the varied settings that I have
served. It was with George that I
learned that when you make a shut in call and an 85 year old lady has brewed a
pot of coffee for you and baked a cake, you drink the coffee even though you
aren’t a coffee drinker, and you eat the cake even if it is 10:00 in the
morning. I learned that when
you’re the narrator for the spring choir cantata, you show up and do your
best. (George was so sick that he
disappeared out the back door during one of the songs, emptied his stomach, and
without anyone knowing what he had just done, finished his part with the
choir.) I learned that when
tragedy happens (an RV exploded in fire, taking the mother’s life and severely
burning a toddler and infant daughter), you pray to God for the strength that
you need to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and God gives it to
you. I learned that sometimes when
you had no intentions of doing so, a person can get offended by what you do or
say, and when that happens the best thing to do is to try and talk to that
person. I learned a lot from
George.
Of course, George didn’t teach me everything in that year that we spent
together. I learned later in my
ministry how draining the day to day ministry can be; being the shoulder for
others when life falls apart, modeling forgiveness when a person stands face to
face with guilt, trying to provide a worship service and sermon each week that is
worthy of the One who has died on the cross, swimming in shark infested
waters. I learned later in
ministry how isolating the life of a pastor can be as you carry your vocation
into your neighborhood and community.
I learned later in life that ministry is far more art than science. George taught me a lot, a great
foundation for what I have learned over the years.
The last memory that I have of George is his hand on my head, praying
for me as I began the rugged path of pastoral ministry on which he had guided
my beginning. Thank you George.
Thank you, also, to all of you who have walked the path of pastoral
ministry with me – parishoners, friends, family, Bungee Cord readers – who have
placed their hands on my life and prayed for me as I continue to learn. I hope that through me and in
spite of me, the grace of God has shaped your lives in the same way that God’s
grace shaped my life through George’s gentle care.
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace, (ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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