Final message from the podium
By Daniel Arens
One long-time local pastor gave his farewell sermon to a congregation he has preached to and cared for over the last 15 years.
Elden Zuern said he would still be open to helping out at times and at different places where a preacher may be needed for a specific situation, but his time as a regular minister has drawn to a close.
Zuern, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday, gave the message last Sunday to the congregation of St. Paul Lutheran Church, a rural church about midway between Hazen and Pick City. Zuern became involved with the church shortly after moving back to Mercer County, his original home, following years of ministry in Massachusetts.
For Lutheran churches, and many Protestant congregations, the Sunday before Oct. 31 is Reformation Sunday, when these churches remember the Protestant Reformation and the split from the Roman Catholic Church that occurred 500 years ago. Zuern tied his message to Martin Luther’s Reformation and the importance of faith over works.
“It is an act of grace, an act of forgiveness, that saves us,” Zuern said. “Because we have the assurance of salvation, that is why we do the good works.”
