THE VICAR IS COMING!!!

Listen my children and you will hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere...I had to memorize this poem when I was in seventh grade. It told the story of the herioc dash that warned the Minutemen of the arrival of red-coated British soldiers. It was one of the points in time that changed our nation and the world.

While it is not as earth-shattering as the coming of the Red Coats, there is someone coming to Zion as well. Starting in July, Zion will be served by Vicar Jeff Hemmer. VIcar Hemmer will be doing his vicarage, or internship, here with us. During that time, he and his wife Laura will be living among us, sharing the joys and sorrows of the ministry with us, and by God's grace, growing with us as we seek to carry out our mission of spreading the Gospel and growing in fellowship.

With the annoucement that THE VICAR IS COMING, there will be a boatload of questions. The first is "What is a vicar?" A vicar is a seminary student in his third year of study. He is not an assistant pastor. He is an assistant to the pastor. Everything that he does will be under my direct supervision. He will come here to do almost all of what the pastor does. He will preach in worship. He will teach a Bible Class. He will teach confirmation in both the Day School and the Mid-Week School programs. He will visit the shut-ins, the hospitalized, the healthy, the inactive and the active members of our congregation. He will have some administrative dutes, but not many. The best analogy that I can give is that Vicar Hemmer will be much like a student teacher. He will observe for a short time and then get actively involved in the workings of the ministry.

The next question is "What should we call him?" The answer is Vicar Hemmer. This is especially true in front of our children. While the vicar is not yet a pastor, he will be carrying out the functions of a pastor and should be accorded the same respect. In an informal setting, you may want to relax in a bit by calling him Jeff, but in a formal setting he should be referred to as Vicar Hemmer.

"You told us what he can do, are there any things that the vicar can't do?" Well , yes, there are some things that the vicar will not be able to do. He is not ordained, therefore he can't say the Words of Institution for the Lord's Supper. He should not ordinarily do funerals or weddings by himself, though he can participate at such functions. He will not be loaned out to neighboring congregations for preaching assignments unless it is absolutely necessary.

"Where are Vicar Hemmer and his wife Laura going to live?" That answer has changed recently. Originally, Vicar and Laura were going to live in a house that the congregation will receive from the estate of Lorene Rowlands. However, since Jill and I have recently bought a home here in town, the idea is to have them live in the parsonage. This will give them a more full parish experience.

There are so many questions that the arrival of the vicar may give rise to. If you have them, call me. There is a brief bio of Jeff and Laura in this Messenger. I will answer them the best that I can. What I can assure you is that with Vicar and Laura here, it will be just another tool that the Lord will use in His ministry here of spreading the Gospel and Growing in fellowship!