Giving thanks to God for the work of our Sr. Pastor Call Committee, Zion welcomed Pastor John Hulden, Assistant to the Bishop in the Minneapolis Area Synod to preach the sermon and install our Senior Pastor. It was a day of celebrating a long-awaited new chapter in the life of our congregation.
The fourth Sunday in Easter is always Good Shepherd Sunday. It couldn’t have been a better day for an Installation! Every year, the same Gospel text is read from the tenth chapter of John’s Gospel. We are reminded that Jesus is the true shepherd. We are encouraged to listen for His voice. We celebrated our Good Shepherd and prayed that we would be faithful in listening to Jesus’ voice in our lives. We also baptized three new “sheep” into the fold.
Pr. Hulden had some fun with the text and our Pastor Bahe’s (Baaa) last name, having us laughing in the aisles as he had Pastor Bahe “call” to the kids “here, sheepy, sheepy…” to demonstrate that they would follow her as the ‘pretty good’ shepherd. He went on to say that Jesus is THE Good Shepherd, and pastors are called to be shepherds of the ‘flock’ God has given them to lead.
We celebrated the work of the Call Committee: Eric Mattson [Chair], Phyllis Bengtson, Taryn Bullert, Dominic DesMarais, Jennifer Gustafson, Joan Halderson, Paula Herda, Andy Kohls, Josie LaFave, Hannah Peterson, Tyler Peterson.
We prayed together, made promises to support our pastor, pray for her and honor her leadership for the sake of the Gospel. She promised to pray for us, lead us, and guide us. Then, it was time to celebrate and rejoice!
A word of Thanks from Pastor Bahe:
It is an honor, to be called and installed to serve as your Sr. Pastor. I ask that you keep me in your prayers, that you come to me if you have a concern or something you are excited about doing—and that you lean with me—into God’s amazing future.
Thank you to all who helped make Installation Day such a wonderful celebration. Thank you, Zion-for your presence, the prayers, cards, good wishes, and warm welcome. Thank you-Sr. Choir and Youth and Family Worship Team for such amazing music! Thank you to all who worked to make the reception so beautiful and such a wonderful celebration. Thanks for the flowers, the cake, and everything you did to make the day so special.
My husband, Brad and I—along with our son James—thank you for your warm welcome. Brad and I are so excited to be a part of the Buffalo community and most especially, to be a part of the Zion family.
I believe strongly in the Call process and the way that God works in bringing pastor and congregation together and I am looking forward to our continued partnership as we serve together, for the sake of God’s so loved world!
