Keeping an electronic calendar makes it easier to go back and review the previous year. When I do, I’m amazed at all that happened and all the places I went.
Travel included:
- Late January and mid-August trips to Springfield to see my Dad.
- February and August trips to Dallas to see my son and his family, including the birth of our 6th grandchild, Josephine.
- April trip to the graduate’s call service at Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, IN.
- May trip to Detroit for a spring pastor’s conference.
- June trip to Orlando for Stephen Ministry Leader training.
- July trip to Seven Devils, NC, to get away from some of the Florida summer to a nice cabin on the mountain.
- July trip to Tampa for the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod convention.
- August trip to Ridley Park for my Dad’s funeral at the church where we grew up.
- 10 day September trip to Israel!
Family events included:
- The birth of our 6th grandchild, Josephine on July 26 and her baptism on August 4.
- The death of my father at the age of 95 on August 12. My brother, my son and I preached at his funeral on August 16.
- Two of our grandchildren, Daniel and Cameron celebrated their first birthdays.
- My son and his family from Texas came to visit in June and again in December.
A few other interesting tidbits:
- I started holding some of my elder meetings by teleconference. Worked well, especially since some of the church elders live some distance from the church.
- I got to preach a dialogue sermon with Pastor Brent Hartwig, the uncle of one of our confirmands in April. It was both fun to prepare and deliver.
- I got to assist in the worship service where my son baptized his newborn daughter, Josephine.
- I build a really cool wooden fort/swing set in our backyard for the grandkids.
- Lots of trips to playgrounds, zoos, attractions, restaurants, and movies with the grandkids.
- I announced my retirement from full-time pastoral ministry, effective July 26, 2020.
I could add to that all the weddings, funerals, baptisms and celebrations I was a part of, too. I am so grateful for a great year!
