Ordination of David Lee Hansen to the Holy Ministry
of Word and Sacrament and Installation as Pastor
August 5th, 2006
On Saturday, August 5 David Lee Hansen was ordained to the ministry of word and sacrament and installed as pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Prairie Hill. The service took place at two o’clock in the afternoon and The Rev. Paul J. Blom presided. Pastor Hansen’s father, The Rev. R. Christian Hansen, preached the ordination service. His sermon “Imagineering,” (based on Mark 4:26-34), encouraged Pastor David along with the congregation to consider the daily events of their lives – small though they may seem – as extraordinary measures of progress toward the furthering of the kingdom of God:
We are ordaining a new pastor into the ministry of Christ’s Church this day. This ordinary man will join an ordinary group of people in an ordinary church who will sometimes be tempted to ask what we can do - to ask whether we can make a difference. Jesus calls all of us, led by our spiritual guides, to do the littlest things - scattering the seeds of faith - the seeds of generosity - the seeds of kindness - the seeds of love. And he assures us that our humblest work, by the grace of God, will make all the difference. Amen.
Several members of Pastor Hansen’s family were in attendance. His parents, The Rev. R. Christian and Norma Hansen traveled from Chattanooga, Tennessee to participate in and attend the service. Also, Pastor Hansen’s in-laws Stephen, Cheryl, and Liesl Biehle were in attendance, and his father-in-law served as lector for the ordination. Pastor Hansen’s extended family was delighted by the arrival of his uncle Don Swadner and Marlena Roberts who arrived that morning from Cape Coral, Florida.
Other participants in the service included several members of St. John, including Brandon Rougeau (acolyte) and Heather Horton (crucifer). Pastor Hansen was presented for ordination by the Rev. Jim Abbot – pastor of St. Matthew and Immanuel Lutheran congregations in Brenham, Julia Hansen, and Andrew Schroeder. The officers of the congregational council – Mike Altman, Kevin Hill, Audrey Steinbach, and Rita Gaskamp – presented Pastor Hansen to be installed as pastor of St. John. Representatives of the congregation included Gerald Herrmann, Wilber Hohlt, Mildred Spreen, and Glenda Stegent, who presented Pastor Hansen with a Bible, keys to the church, water of baptism, and the Lutheran Book of Worship, respectively.
Music: Musicians for the service included Linda Schulze, congregational and men’s choir accompanist, Linda Pieper, Mary Longhofer, director of the men’s choir, and Julia B. Hansen, who performed the prelude.
Reception: The reception was organized by Debra Westerfeld.
Pastor Hansen began work at St. John in June 2006. A resident of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Pastor Hansen earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Religion from Roanoke College in Virginia. He completed his Master of Divinity at Sewanee School of Theology, University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He completed the ELCA’s ordination process with an internship at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Centreville, Virginia, as well as a year of Lutheran studies at Gettysburg Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. Pastor Hansen is the fourth generation to be ordained to the Lutheran ministry in his family.
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