By Penny Leuthard, Staff Writer
Pastor Angela LaMoore has joined the staff at South Santiago Lutheran Church on 37th St., the congregation surrounded by farms and sand hills cranes and founded almost 136 years ago this October.
A 2017 Luther Seminary Graduate, LaMoore has been waiting as patiently as she could for a call.
“The ELCA call process isn’t as simple as the bishop saying ‘You go there,’” Senior Pastor Daryl Thul explained. “Both the prospective pastor and the congregations work hard to pray and to listen to the Holy Spirit throughout the process – it’s really cool when you know God sent the right one to your door and I believe He did just that with Angela.”
LaMoore is married to Morgan LaMoore and the couple is expecting their first child next spring.
They broke the news to the SSLC congregation on Sunday.
“The people here have been so warm and welcoming,” LaMoore said. “They’ve already taken our growing family under their wing.”
As a congregation in the process of revitalization, LaMoore’s work schedule will increase over the next year. She is currently working 2/3 time and has office hours on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Church Office Manager Shelly Bluhm suggested that the timing of her arrival could not have been better.
“Like all churches, this time of year is really busy,” Bluhm said. “We are in the process of putting our program year plans into action, making calls and ensuring all of our workers are ready for what’s going to hit them in early September.”
The people at South Santiago are loathe to use the word volunteer: “Since we are reborn Children of the Almighty Father, we work hard to just live out our faith,” Pastor Thul explained. “Our Savior and Brother Jesus didn’t volunteer to die for us – He just did it.”
“Sounds like the old Nike slogan,” Pastor LaMoore laughed.
“We are blessed to have a lot of people who have stood up to get things done and who are still coming forward to work,” Thul said. “Over the past week, we have had initial training for the more than 24 Kingdom Kids and The Breakfast Club teachers. We will be using a new curriculum this fall called ‘Group’s Buzz (Amazing Grace).’”
SSLC offers Sunday Morning Christian Education to preschool through 4th grade in the “Kingdom Kids” program. The Breakfast Club is specifically targeting students in grades 5 and 6 and will include awesome food and splits the difference between the more traditional Sunday School methods and the confirmation model that they will begin in 7th grade. Both Kingdom Kids and TBC start at 9 a.m. every Sunday starting on Sept. 9.
In one of her biggest initial assignments, Pastor Angela has taken on the planning and coordination of the congregation’s return to two worship services on Sunday mornings beginning Sept. 9 – at 8 a.m. and at 10 a.m.
“The early service will be more traditional, utilizing formal liturgies and the organ,” she said. “The 10 a.m. service, on the other hand, will be more informal, with more current music and creative worship elements.”
The longest day of the week for LaMoore and the other staff and lay people at SSLC is Wednesdays, beginning Sept. 5 at 6:30 p.m. The SSLC Wednesday evening confirmation program has a long and rich history of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. The weekly program requires a minimum of 11 small group leaders and a handful of additional supporting personnel to even open the doors. SSLC has added a pay-as-you-go ‘Canteen’ for students and families who don’t have time to eat between activities and the start of the education hour at 6:30 p.m. Pastor LaMoore will instruct some large group lessons and will also be working with the older students to develop and grow its program for 2018-19.
Called … and Ordained
“One thing most people might not know about the Lutheran Church is that you can’t be a pastor without a flock,” Pastor Thul explained. “If you think about it – a shepherd without sheep isn’t a shepherd.”
Pastor Angela LaMoore was unanimously called to be its new Associate Minister of Word and Sacrament for SSLC at a special congregational meeting the final Sunday in July.
“That’s a big deal,” Bluhm said. “Becoming a pastor – stepping up into that role – is a very sacred moment for the person and for the congregation.”
That moment came Sat., Aug. 25, 2018.
Southwestern Minnesota Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Bishop Jon Anderson ordained Pastor LaMoore and consecrated her work in the name of Jesus Christ with Morgan and many additional friends and family members, the SSLC Church Council and dozens of congregation members, as well as several ordained pastors from the Great River Conference.
“It’s one of the few worship services that pastors will single-handedly plan and develop – picking Bible passages, hymns and the liturgies used,” Pastor Thul explained. “In a way, it is a window into the history and make-up of the new pastor.
“That said, Pastor Angela selected passages that highlighted the return of the Children of Israel to the Promised Land after decades of slavery (Isaiah 52), the ministry of reconciliation as explained by the great missionary Paul (2 Corinthians 5) and Jesus’ final words to his followers before He ascended into Heaven from the Gospel according to Luke,” he continued. “The hymns were a great mix of old school and more recent songs – “I Love to Tell the Story,” “Spirit of the Living God” and “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less.”
Pastor LaMoore will be teaching a “Jesus 101” class on Sunday mornings during the 9 a.m. Education Hour beginning Sept. 16.
“The target audience is broad: New members, transfer members, young and old members - Anyone who wants to deepen his/her faith – and hear the old, old story that still applies today,” she said.
