Greetings from Northern Michigan! Team Ketelsen has had quite the year!
This year brought the end of Seminary and everything that goes with it. In April, Joshua received his first call as sole pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Onaway, Michigan. Joshua officially graduated from Concordia Seminary-St. Louis in May with a Masters of Divinity. Seminary was an adventure, but we were happy to begin our new adventure in Michigan.
On June 21st Stefani and Joshua celebrated their first wedding anniversary. Thanks to Stefani’s parents they were able to celebrate in Disney World! The Marrah-Ketelsen vacation was great fun. We explored all four parks. Everyone had a “magical” time.
In July, Joshua was ordained at his home congregation in Akron, OH. It was great to see everything come full circle. After the service there was a delicious brunch. We had a great time with his family and friends there. Once ordination was over it was time for the big move to Onaway. We packed up our belongings, and then watched as the semi was loaded and pulled away. The next day we packed up our cars and headed north.
Two days of traveling later we arrived at our new home. The church has a parsonage for us. It has 4 bedrooms, 1 ½ baths, a full basement, and a 2 ½ car garage. The full bath and the kitchen have also been recently renovated. The house is approximately 2 blocks from the church. We live “in town”, so we don’t have to travel far for restaurants, groceries, gas, etc.
Holy Cross is a small, but thriving congregation with a nice blend of contemporary and traditional worship elements. Attendance averages around 75 on Sunday morning, which is a healthy size for a rural town of 900. We were warmly welcomed by the congregation, who were all eager to have fresh input and open to changes. Joshua has already performed his first funeral and wedding. At the end of December he will be performing his first baptisms. Needless to say it has been a very busy five months. Stefani has been busy unpacking and organizing the house. She has also been hired on to substitute in the area schools. She enjoys the flexible schedule of subbing, but does miss the classroom some times. Not only has Stefani been volunteering at church, but also she has taken on a volunteer job at the Onaway Chamber of Commerce. She is hoping to get to know the town and the people in it better through this opportunity. We pray that you and yours have a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!God’s Blessings,Joshua and Stefani
