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Pastor John- Something about me and how I operate

I am looking forward to our time together in ministry as I serve you as your interim pastor. I thought it would be good to share a bit about me, how I operate, and my things I stress in ministry. First of all, I am a native upstate New Yorker born in Rochester, NY. My dad was a factory worker at Delco Products in Rochester (one of the two GM plants there) my mom was a homemaker, but eventually worked as a bank teller in a local bank. I have one younger brother who now lives with his family in Mobile, Alabama. I met my wife, Pam in high school through one of the school musical productions. We married on July 10, 1976. In 1980 we were blessed with our first child, our daughter Mary, and in 1986 we were blessed with a second child, our son John James.

Since I found my place in high school through school musicals and the high school choir, I started out in college as a secondary education/speech and theatre major at the State University College of New York at Oswego, NY. I then transferred to the state college at Brockport, NY (closer to home), and pursued my other two things I was interested in a B.A, in history with a religion minor. I graduated from Brockport in 1977. During my college years I worked summers at a landscaping company. When I graduated I wanted to pursue ministry, but when I began to enter the process for my denomination then

(Presbyterian) the, governing body of my local church told me that I needed to wait, so I interpreted that as a “no” and took a job in retailing with a discount chain, then in 1980 with a  tire chain store. However God had other plans, and in the summer of 1980, after singing a solo at a summer service in my church I thought I heard God say,” John, it’s time now”. So I began the process anew and in the summer of 1981 I was going to leave Rochester with Pam and our daughter Mary to begin seminary at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. I graduated in 1984, and ordained, taking my first call to the Presbyterian Stone Church in Ogdensburg, NY, dairy farm country and served there until 1987. I then had to opportunity to serve in Canada, I served with the Presbyterian Church in Canada at Knox Presbyterian Church in Welland, Ontario from 1987-91. Things took a different turn when I took a call to serve the First Church of Evans, in the town of Evans south of Buffalo, NY. It was at this time I began to examine my life and began to see a counselor for some stock taking and direction. Part of that time was my expressed desire to return to a more liturgical tradition, having been raised Roman Catholic.  My counselor, a Lutheran pastor, suggested the Lutheran church as a place I might investigate in that regard. Eventually that lead me to transitioning from Presbyterian to Lutheran (ELCA) doing Lutheran studies through Gettysburg (now United) Theological Seminary along with a year as vicar at two small Lutheran churches 25 miles apart in the south towns’ area of Buffalo, NY. These two churches became my first Lutheran call and I was there for five years leaving in 2001 to serve St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Syracuse, NY where I served until 2010. From 2010 to 2015 I was privileged to serve at St. James Lutheran Church in Phillipsburg, NJ, in western New Jersey near the Pennsylvania border. Since this was originally a church founded by Henry Muhlenberg, considered a founder of the Lutheran Church in the continental United States in1769, I grew in my knowledge and appreciation for the history of the Lutheran church in this country. With the move of my daughter to Alaska in2013, I eventually took a call in Fairbanks, Alaska in 2015. There I served Fairbanks Lutheran Church, and thinking about retirement, took training with the Interim Ministry Network in 2017 and 18  to do intentional interim ministry after my last settled call. However fate intervened and my daughter and her husband, now living near Austin, Texas announced she was pregnant and due to deliver in the spring of 2019.  Since she needed our help and support in July of 2019 I left Alaska for Texas, and began doing intentional interim ministry there, and served a number of churches both large, medium size, and small.

Since my daughter took a position in late 2025 as executive director of Easter Seals and Goodwill in North Dakota that is what has brought me to Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church and Zion Lutheran church.

MY “THEMES IN MINISTRY”

I’m told all pastors have themes they tend to base their ministry and preaching on. Here are some themes then I think I use a lot.

1.       We are all sinners and in need of the grace of God that is

lovingly given to all through Christ through his death and resurrection.

2.       The Bible is God’s word.  While I realize there are some hard

things to understand in scripture, it is the only Bible we have, so attention must be paid.  Sacred Scripture in foundational.

3.       “The ground is level at the foot of the Cross.” There’s not a

choice between us”.  We all are equal before God. No one is better than anyone else, and everyone has something special to give and share. We are in this together!

4.       The priority of PRAYER. A bishop I once served under had the

theme “PRAY FIRST”.  I agree!

I’m sure there are others, but these do come to mind.

MY SCHEDULE AND HOW I OPERATE

Outside of Sunday ,which is already pretty pre-determined, during the

Monday- Wednesday my schedule roughly works like this: Early mornings I like to work out, usually at the gym on Mondays and Wednesdays, then with the elliptical I have at the parsonage on Tuesdays. Mornings I tend to like work in the office, and in the afternoon visitation.

Obviously this can change if an emergency situation arises, and things come up so there is some flexibility in the schedule I shared with you.

When I call a church member on the phone, I will try to use the church or parsonage local phone. However if I need to I will use my cell phone that has a 716 area code. If I need to call someone, unless they give me permission, I don’t like to call before 10:00 am in the morning or after 10:000 pm at night.

In certain situations especially with children, or some counseling situations, I do not like to be alone with the person. I like having someone sitting in with me. They just have to be there, not necessarily tasked with anything.

Finally I like to see the humor in things, and not take myself seriously.

I pray our journey together will be one of growth, discovery, and direction for what God has for us all!

Pastor John Van Haneghan