Another Call

Jude is looking very well. I'll take him to see the surgeon on Friday, and it sounds like his appendectomy in December will be outpatient surgery. Owen came home from Kentucky on Sunday, and we are all happy to be together in the house again. It was a discombobulating couple of weeks.

Speaking of discombobulation, Ben has received a call to a congregation in Nebraska. Here's the announcement Ben wrote for Sunday's bulletin:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This week I informed St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Matteson, Illinois, that I am declining their call to be their Associate Pastor. I do so with prayers that God will raise up the right man to serve them in this capacity; please keep our brothers and sisters in your prayers as well. I will now move forward in considering the call to be Associate Pastor at Peace Lutheran Church in Columbus, Nebraska. Peace-Columbus also is asking me to consider working with Youth and Education. We plan on deciding about this call by mid-December. Please keep Susan, our boys, and me in your prayers while we take steps to figure out where God is leading us to serve Him. Thank you to those of you who have shared your thoughts with me and your encouragement that you have given me as a pastor. As I have been saying and will continue to say during this process, during this time of prayerful consideration of these calls, my heart is very much in the ministry herel, serving the Lord together with you as we tell others the Good News of Jesus Christ.

In Christ, Pastor Ben Squires

Calls are a curious business. We believe that God has called Ben to serve where he is now, and we want to stay here unless we become convinced that He is sending us elsewhere. A call from another congregation is like an invitation to consider that God is taking us elsewhere. So, we are praying and considering and investigating. We'll keep you posted.