Call Committee
Call Committee Members
Cheri Ashfeld
- Member since 2004
- Currently serving on Library Committee, Soundboard Team, and Prayer Chain
- Has served on Nominating Committee and Stewardship Committee
- Married to Lee
Mike Boyack
- Member since 2011
- Currently serving on Church Council
- Has served on Property Committee, as Sunday School teacher and Vacation Bible School helper
- Married to Rachel; father to Cora (12) and Ailsa (9)
Billie Chock
- Member since 2013
- Currently serving on Church Council and Technology Team
- Has served as Sunday School teacher and Mission Trip chaperone
- Married to Ken; mother to Ellie (16) and Danny (14)
Rhonda Current
- Member since 2010
- Currently serving on Personnel Committee and Transition Team
- Has served on Worship & Music Committee
- Married to Tim; mother of two grown daughters
Sophia Grant
- Member since 2007
- Attended Sunday School
- Confirmed in 2023
- Attended Mission Trips in 2021, 2022, 2023
Paul Ludwig
- Member since 2005
- Currently serving on Mutual Ministry Committee
- Has served on Technology Committee and Worship & Music Committee
- Married to Marcie; father to Braelyn (9) and Beckett (8)
Erin Olson
- Member since 2015
- Currently serving as Explorers leader
- Married to Kevin; mother to Charlotte (7) and Emmie (4)
Pat Czock, first alternate
- Member since 1998
- Currently serving on Stewardship Committee
- Has served on Youth Committee and service group, and as Confirmation guide
- Mother and stepmother to five grown children
Natasha Werner, second alternate
- Member since 2018
- Currently serving on Church Council
- Has served as Confirmation guide
- Married to Jeremiah; mother of Ava (15) and Mya (15)
Call Committee Updates
Dear LOC Family,
We are thrilled to share some wonderful news with you today. After much prayer, discernment, and the leading of the Holy Spirit, Pastor Tim Wheatley has officially accepted our call to become the next pastor of Light of Christ!
This is a moment to celebrate and thank God for His faithfulness in guiding this process. Pastor Tim will bring a spirit of leadership, wisdom, and a heart for ministry to our church, and we are excited to walk alongside him in this new season of growth and service.
Please join us in welcoming Pastor Tim and his family into our church community. He will begin his call at LOC on January 13, 2025; his first official Sunday with us will be January 19, 2025.
Let us continue to pray for Pastor Tim, his family, and our congregation as we embark on this new journey together. To God be the glory!
Sincerely,
The Call Committee & Church Council
Dear Church Family,
Today's message is an introduction to our Pastor candidate, Pastor Tim Wheatley. Pastor Tim shared some information with all of us to get to know a little more about him. Also below is a reminder of the upcoming events on Sundays, November 10 & 17.
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Greetings, I am Pastor Tim Wheatley. I grew up the son of a pastor and a teacher in Wyoming, MN. I married my not-quite-high-school-sweetheart (I didn’t ask her out until the week after high school), and we have four beautiful children: Elijah 17, Annalise 15, Josiah 11, and Constantine 3. When I received my call to seminary, I knew that I would probably want to serve in Minnesota and so I chose to go to the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. There I was well educated and ready to come back to serve the Southwestern Minnesota synod for the first 19 years of my ministry, currently at Evangelical Lutheran Church Cokato since 2012. I have a passion for family and ministry and have a strong conviction that we as Christians need to be connected to all ages. I love board games, reading, and camping — not always together. Although I am a decent enough singer, I find myself lucky enough to be the least musical one in my family. We play 15 instruments between us—Trombone (2), Organ (2), Clarinet (2), Tuba (1), Trumpet (1), Piano (3), Cello (2), Violin (1) and whatever Constantine hits his drumsticks on (1). We look forward to meeting you on November 10th!
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Saturday & Sunday, November 9 & 10 - We will have a "Welcome Weekend" where the candidate will spend time meeting with some of our groups at Light of Christ, including the staff and Church Council. He will also be preaching and leading service on November 10. Immediately following the service there will be a welcome reception for him and his family that everyone is invited to. Breakfast will be provided by the Community Life Committee.
Sunday, November 17 - The Church Council will be holding a Congregational Meeting immediately following the service where there will be a vote on calling the candidate to be our next Pastor. This meeting will also be available via Zoom at this link: Zoom Meeting
Thank you and please let us know if you have any questions.
LOC Call Committee
Dear Church Family,
The Call Committee is pleased to provide you with an update on our search for a new pastor. As you have heard from our previous updates over the past year, our journey has included multiple twists and turns. Today, we are excited to share our progress and next steps with you.
About a month ago we let you know that we had reached a mutual decision to pause our process with the candidate that we had been working with for quite some time. The reason for this pause was due to some health-related issues he experienced during his visits to our Sanctuary, specifically allergies to mold. As you may recall, we had some water damage in our steeple area and have recently completed some repairs. We believe it is important for you to hear directly from him about his experience and insights regarding this journey. The candidate provided these words for you, the congregation.
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“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here I am; send me!’” Isaiah 6:8
This beautiful verse, from Isaiah’s call, is one that many of us treasure and look to as how we should respond to God’s call. As a pastor and a man of faith, I realize that often it is not phrased so eloquently or succinctly and we must struggle to hear the call long before we respond, “Here I am, send me!” Thus, as we look at our response to this call, I want to let you all know how I have felt ready to respond to this call.
One of the key reasons it was different is because I didn’t file my paperwork to find a new church. Last March, over the course of three weeks, I was asked to interview at three different places—without my paperwork being in. Now if I had been asked once I may have ignored it, but three interview requests felt like it might be God’s doing. I did not do the three interviews, and in fact, I was going to say no to all of them, but then the bishop of my Synod called. She had hoped to convince me not to interview but kept using the language of the greater call of the church. As Lutherans, we believe strongly that God doesn’t just work through one person, but it is the entire church’s job to issue a call (Augsburg Confessions XIV). Well, that put the three interview requests in a new light. If I was feeling like God may be using others to call me. In my ordination vows, I have promised to respond to God’s call.
My first interview with your call committee went well and I was moved by your “children’s area in the church.” I love the fact that the kids have a space because Jesus said, “Let the children come unto me.” I was also excited to see how you have shared your space with the community and have a focus on people’s mental health. However, as I ran into LaDonna in your sanctuary, I soon realized that there was something in your sanctuary that interacted with my allergies. In my 20’s I developed minor seasonal allergies. But when I lived in a parsonage with mold in it, they became very inflamed. After three years of allergy shots and three years of sublingual exposure therapy drops, my doctor told me that modern medicine could do nothing else for me. This sent me down a path of more Eastern medicine that has helped my immune system recover and I have made great strides since January. I still value and follow Western medicine, but my truth for knowledge was expanded through that journey. However, something in your sanctuary caused a small reaction. The next day I withdrew from the process. After the other interview I had said yes to did not lead to a call, I returned to my job knowing that at least for now the church had affirmed my call to my current congregation and church.
So, I was very surprised when I got a call from your call committee a second time. The second interview went better than the first. There was camaraderie with the committee both about the call process and how this church functions in a wonderful mix of corporate structure and old fashioned home church. We shared visions of being a Lutheran witness that is growing in a time when so much of the world focuses on what you have to do to be “Christian” enough. However, just to be sure we were discerning the spirit, we met for a third time. After this meeting, I felt a call and excitement around Light of Christ. I spent a week of intense prayer and felt the personal call at that point. However, the issue of the sanctuary was a sticking point for me. Some members of your call committee and I developed an experiment that involved the use of ozone to clear and eradicate any biological source of allergic reaction. The experiment was a failure, and for a second time, I withdrew my name. However, for the next two days I could not sleep and felt stirred by that sense of call that would not go away. On the third day, while reading to my kids, I experienced a revelation that came out of nowhere. It was another experiment. Now that was an awkward time because I had left the process, but when I sat with it, I knew I needed to try it. The call committee was gracious and allowed me to run it two days later. I gained insight and respect for the ways they have been working in the face of Pastor Bruce’s absence. When I ran the experiment, I found that it was a success, and I would be able to be in your sanctuary.
That is where we are. I still believe the church’s call is God’s call, and so I ask you to pray and consider whether Light of Christ is calling me to be your pastor at this time.
Pastor Candidate
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As a Call Committee, we continued to work closely with both the candidate and the Church Council throughout the entire process. We are pleased to share that we have found a Pastor who aligns well with our church, community, and values. Today we are excited to announce that we have recommended to the Church Council that we move forward with this candidate to become our next called Pastor at Light of Christ.
We aren't able to share our candidate’s name with you today as he is currently serving in another congregation and he would like to share his situation with his current congregation next Sunday, November 3rd. However, we do have some dates and timelines to share:
Sunday, November 3 - We will announce the candidate's name at church and provide more information about him and his family. We will also share this in the Beacon on Monday, November 4.
Saturday & Sunday, November 9 & 10 - We will have a "Welcome Weekend" where the candidate will spend time meeting with some of our groups at Light of Christ, including the staff and Church Council. He will also be preaching and leading service on November 10. Immediately following the service there will be a welcome reception for him and his family that everyone is invited to.
Sunday, November 17 - The Church Council will be holding a Congregational Meeting immediately following the service where there will be a vote on calling the candidate to be our next Pastor. This meeting will also be available via Zoom at this link: Zoom Meeting
Thank you for your continued prayers and support during this important time for our church. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we worked through our Call process to find the best candidate for Light of Christ.
LOC Call Committee
We hope this message finds you well. We want to provide you with an update regarding our search for a new pastor. We are excited to share that we have identified a candidate of interest who aligns well with our church, community, and values.
However, we want to be transparent that there are some obstacles to work through before the candidate can make a final decision. We are working closely with both the candidate and the church council in this process and we are committed to navigating these challenges thoughtfully. We will continue to keep you informed as best we can as we progress through the process.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support during this important time for our church. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work toward a positive outcome.
The Call Committee
The Call Committee would like to provide an update on our search for our next Pastor. The Call Committee had narrowed our list of candidates to two finalists. At this time, both of those candidates have withdrawn.
The Call Committee and Church Council will continue to provide updates to the congregation as appropriate. The next two Sundays, May 12th and 19th, a member from the Call Committee and Church Council will be providing a brief update as well during the services. In the meantime, we ask for your continued prayers for wisdom and guidance as we continue our work to find the best candidate to lead our congregation forward.
Thank you for your patience and support.
Sincerely,
The Call Committee
The Call Committee is pleased to provide an update on our search for our next Pastor. We recently concluded the first round of interviews with five highly qualified candidates who expressed interest in serving our congregation.
We were very impressed by the caliber of the candidates we met. Each person brought unique strengths and experiences to the table, and the committee had thoughtful discussions following our interview process.
At this time, we have narrowed our scope of candidates. The committee is carefully reviewing the information gathered during the interviews, visiting the candidates' current churches either in person or virtually, and setting up second-round interviews in mid-April.
We understand your eagerness to learn more about the search process. The Call Committee will continue to provide updates to the congregation monthly or as appropriate. In the meantime, we kindly ask for your continued prayers for wisdom and guidance as we discern the best candidate to lead our congregation forward.
Thank you for your patience and support.
Sincerely,
The Call Committee
We have completed our first big step as the Ministry Site Profile (MSP) was successfully submitted to the Synod. We received very positive feedback from Bishop Ann and want to extend a huge THANK YOU to all those who participated in putting that together or provided input during the congregational meetings. Now that the MSP is live, we will start to receive candidate names through one of three ways: candidates applying to the open position, the Synod reaching out to candidates who the Synod thinks would be a good fit, and nominations from the LOC congregation. If you wish to nominate a potential candidate to the call committee, please fill out the Nomination Form found HERE. Nomination forms will also be available in the Narthex of the church through January 7th and can be submitted electronically or placed in the offering plate during service.
Next steps in the call process are reviewing potential candidates' resumes and conducting interviews starting in mid to late January.
The Call Committee will continue to provide updates to the congregation on a monthly basis or as appropriate.
