April 22, 2008

April 22, the day we have been waiting for has finally come. If you did not know, April 22^nd is the day of Vicarage Placements at Concordia Seminary. This is the day when I and the rest of my classmates find out where we will be spending our Vicarages (like a church internship) for the upcoming year. Well, the 22^nd has come and we can spread the good news. Mandy and I will be spending our next year at Trinity Lutheran Church of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. You read it right…down in the South. Mandy and I are really excited for this opportunity and experience and we pray that God will bless us as we make this next big step in our lives.

Here’s a little info about the church if you want to know. It is in the Southern District of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. My supervising pastor for the year is Rev. Scott Schmieding. The church has 1250 members with an average weekly attendance of 525. Attached to the church is a grade school with 3 yr old Preschool to 8^th grade and has 196 students. The church has many ministries including a growing ESL (English as Second Language) ministry. Trinity purchased a 25 acre tract of land in 2005 for future expansion. They are currently developing a master plan for the possible relocation of the church and school in phases.

My vicarage will include teaching a variety of Christian education classes, interacting with the students, staff and families of Baton Rouge Lutheran School, assisting with the youth program, participating in and leading outreach opportunities, helping plan and lead worship weekly and preaching at least once a month. Mandy and I will be living in a house that is on the 25 acres of land that the church has bought for expansion, which is about 5 miles from the church.

The vicarage will probably start on the 4^th of August depending on a few variables. If you would like to get an idea of what our vicarage will be like you can check out the church's website at www.tlcbr.org. Please pray for Mandy and I as we prepare to make a transition from England to Michigan to Louisiana.

P.S. - There are still travel posts to come. Sooner or later they will be posted too.