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!

Published by William Douthwaite

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