I want to wish Holy Trinity a blessed 150th anniversary! I also want to thank Holy Trinity for its role in my life. I served as the administrative assistant for 18 years from 1992 to 2009. I was hospitalized in 1987 with optic neuritis. This left me with impaired vision and other neurological problems with my hands. I was unemployed for a number of years when Pastor Dan Schwick thought he could make a place for me to work at Holy Trinity. This was a wonderful opportunity not only because I needed employment, but because I had a lifelong desire for ministry in the church.

For the first several years I was halftime at Holy Trinity and halftime at Lakeview Lutheran. I saw the church office go from the treasurer doing hand-calculated bookkeeping to a fully automated bookkeeping system and the full automation of the congregational database. I saw the bulletin grow from a simple document with an outline of the liturgy and lessons to a full bulletin with all of the liturgy. I’ve lived through many changes in the building. I saw the change from an altar facing the wall to a freestanding altar made of the old pulpit. I saw the organ console and choir move from the east front corner to the balcony. I remember when we redecorated and fortunately had a consultant suggest that we use colors from the windows. What a difference that made, the windows became beautiful. I saw the area behind the chancel go from the church office and three large open rooms to the church office plus ten small offices with two larger office spaces.

More important than all the changes in the office and the building were the changes in the lives of people. I don’t even know where to start talking about all the individual people that I learned to know and love. Serving with Dan and then with Craig, Michelle, and David was truly a blessing.

Bob currently lives in a retirement community in Goshen, Indiana, and is active in both an Episcopal Parish and a Mennonite Congregation.