Sunday, May 11th, will mark Vicar Ryan’s last day as our intern. Please join us for a reception in his honor following the 11:00 am service on his last Sunday.
Vicar Ryan graduated from The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in May 2013 and began his internship at Saint Matthew Church in August. He had experience, mostly with youth, in various denominations and churches both before and during his seminary education. Therefore, he wished to spend most of his internship with adult activities. Under Pastor Wengert’s supervision and through his own initiative, he embraced his internship in a variety of tasks. In case you are wondering what he has done, we would like to mention a few things.
- In the fall Vicar Ryan began planning Adult Forum topics and presenters whom he thought would bring interesting and thoughtful information and provide good questions and discussion among attendees.He has a passion for social ministry/justice – for people with differences and special needs. Some of the forum topics reflected that; i.e., the ministry of Chaplain Carl Browne, a Lutheran minister, at the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Wrightstown. This ministry had not been well known as part of the Burlington area cluster of Lutheran churches. Chaplain Browne spoke in Adult Forum and we now include that ministry in our prayers during Sunday worship.
- Last fall Vicar Ryan reached out into the community by instigating a project to provide a dinner for Moorestown police who had to work on Thanksgiving Day. He enlisted the aid of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Marlton where he had done “field work” as a seminarian and which also had a Philadelphia seminary intern. They planned the menu, shopped, cooked and delivered Thanksgiving dinners to police on duty in Moorestown and Marlton/Evesham. Both police forces, including one policeman in Marlton who is a Saint Matthew member, were surprised and most appreciative of what the two churches had done.
- Vicar Ryan initiated a revision of the Saint Matthew Constitution when he realized it was not up to date and in accordance with the ELCA guidelines. Being detail oriented, he meticulously revised, replaced and added sections in accordance with the ELCA and with current procedures in this congregation. He spent many hours on his own and with the help of council president, Dick Graybill. The council has recommended the updates which will be presented to the congregation for adoption at the June semi-annual meeting.
- Vicar Ryan is gifted in his knowledge of multi-media and computer technology. He has provided valuable assistance in these areas in the church office and in securing a good microphone and speaker system for meetings in the church library. He planned and made videos for the Advent and Lenten seasons for the church website in which Pastor Wengert explained some of the components of each season and invited people to attend our worship services. He has also made some positive suggestions for the church website.
- Participation in meetings has also been part of Vicar Ryan’s internship. These have included the various ministries, congregation council, executive committee of the council, Moorestown Ministerium, and the cluster and district Lutheran churches, He has also been involved in worship planning with Pastor Wengert and Cantor David Harp.
- One of Vicar Ryan’s first responsibilities last fall was to serve as sacrastan for the installation of Bishop Tracie Bartholomew for the N.J. Synod. This meant planning the logistics of the service: securing an acolyte and crucifer, planning the clergy procession and participation, musicians, and so many other things. He was pleased with the results of this time consuming task and there was much appreciation for his efforts and the effectiveness of the service.
- Vicar Ryan has preached once a month since October. His final two sermons will be on April 27 and May 4. In addition to feedback from Pastor Wengert, the internship committee has completed written evaluations for two of his sermons and informal feedback on all of the others. Since March, he has competently served as leader of the liturgy in worship (except during Holy Communion). He also read the part of Jesus in the passion narrative on Palm Sunday and preached the First Word during the community Good Friday service at Trinity Church.
- Vicar Ryan has led Bible studies and created opportunities for discussion in each. Several years ago he helped produce a video regarding some social issues in our society. He showed the video in three weekly segments in the Monday morning Bible study in December, with lively discussion following .
- Vicar Ryan’s internship project is still in the planning stages. It will be an unprecedented Pentecost Vigil service for the Delaware Mission District which includes the Burlington – Camden Mission Cluster. It will be held June 4 at 7:00 pm at Prince of Peace Church in Marlton, which has a significantly large seating capaci- ty and is somewhat centrally located for the district. He has secured Bishop Tracie Bartholomew as the preacher and leader of the service. Members of Lutheran churches and friends are invited to attend and the Saint Matthew Adult Choir will sing during the service.
It has been a mutually enjoyable experience as the internship committee has worked with Vicar Ryan, discussing situations and supporting him in every way we could. The internship committee has worked as a team in a most beneficial way and we have happily commended Vicar Ryan for what he has accomplished in his internship. Each of us has completed a mid – term and final evaluation which have been compiled into one from the group. We have highly recommended him to the seminary and to the candidacy committee of the New Jersey Synod. We will miss him and pray blessings upon him and his wife Katie as he continues on his journey toward ordination.
Views from the Vicar
Wow! April went fast! But truly, this was a wonderful Lent and a great Easter. But now, it’s May, and… my days are numbered. My final Sunday will be May 11. Really, since January, I’ve been noticing my time here was speeding by, but I’ve been trying very hard not to think of it too much. But every now and then something will catch me off guard, like suddenly when I’m serving communion, and I sudden sadness sneaks in. Certainly, I am very excited for the next steps of my journey, but I’ve truly loved my time here at SMLC with all of you, to the point that I can’t really even narrow it down to a single aspect or experience—all the time we’ve shared has been really meaningful and important to me, and I will definitely look back on my time with all of you with deep fondness and appreciation.
Thank you, each and every one of you, for welcoming me (and my wife, Katie) into your community; it’s easy to “accept” a new person to your community, but I truly felt welcomed. Thank you for sharing your lives with me… we’ve truly journey through life together these last nine months. And also thank you for all of your support and encouragement. Special thank you’s to all who served on the Internship Committee (Sue Kuhn, Ray Elberson, Charlie Lange, Bill Acherson, Karen Terpak, Jessica Frech, Pat Brodie, and the committee’s fear-less chairwoman, Rozella Bower). Tremendous huge thank you’s to Dave Rulon, Dave Harp (who, with great patience, tolerated odd music requests from me), Kim Bohley and Bill Lawrence (who both tolerated me day-in and day-out and were irreplaceable source of wisdom and support), and to our amazingly wonderful Pastor Ingrid— who shared her vast amounts of experience, wisdom, patience, and kindness (and never once threw anything at me—though there were multiple times I probably deserved it).
Sincerely, deeply, I have incredible love for everyone here, at Saint Matthew Lutheran Church, and will always remember these nine months with deep fondness. Again, my final Sunday with you will be May 11, but I will still linger in the office on and off up as I plan the Delaware Mission District Pentecost Vigil, and it would be absolutely wonderful to see you there.
On my last Sunday, I plan on having a camera with me, and would love to have photos with as many of you as possible.
Thank you again, for everything. Saint Matthew Lutheran Church, is a wonderful congregation. I pray that God continues to bless you, and that you continue to bless others.
Peace, and blessings, and TREMENDOUS love, always – Vicar Ryan