EVERETT — There’s a new energy from Nebraska at the 111-year-old Central Lutheran Church.
The Rev. Jeremy Fuerst is being welcomed as the church’s new pastor at a 4 p.m. service today. Everyone is invited to attend.
Fuerst moved to Washington the weekend after Thanksgiving and has been getting settled at Central Lutheran at the corner of Rockefeller and Everett avenues. He found the congregation welcoming and dedicated, he said.
“What you have here is a group of people who are really interested in finding new ways to do ministry,” he said. “Right now I’m really at the point of assessing the community and seeing what the needs are.”
Fuerst, 38, grew up on a farm in Hildreth, Nebraska, and graduated high school with 12 classmates. He previously served as a pastor at St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska. His wife, Shannyn, also is a pastor. She preaches at a church in Iowa, near the Nebraska border, but hopes to move to the Everett area soon.
Fuerst has a passion for education and mountaineering. Also a certified beer judge, he’s looking forward to exploring local breweries. As an outdoor enthusiast, he’s gearing up to climb Mount Rainier in June. He finds peace and clarity in the wilderness.
He’d like to work with young people in the community. He tried substitute teaching once — it wasn’t for him — but he thinks his role as pastor could help him and the church connect with teachers and students.
“Education, that’s the golden ticket,” he said. “It’s the one thing that can remedy a great deal of our social ills: teen pregnancy, crime rates, unemployment.”
The church also hosts service and recovery groups for all ages. Church volunteers put together Sunday meals, usually soup and sandwiches, for people who need something to eat. They provide more than 100 families with food baskets during Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Service is important, but it’s not what sets the church apart, Fuerst said.
“They can serve their community with anything,” he said. “The main thing we offer is God’s word and promise and the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins.”
Dave Finstad has been going to Central Lutheran Church for 66 years. He started going with his family when he was 4 years old.
“I fulfilled a pledge I made to my grandfather to remain a Lutheran all my life,” he said. “I’ve seen pastors come and go over the years. Most of the time, I’ve hated to see them leave.”
Central Lutheran has excellent music, preaching and Bible studies, he said. The congregation is like a family to him.
He described Fuerst as energetic and likable, full of enthusiasm and new ideas.
“The first thing that hit me was the friendliness,” Finstad said. “There’s always a smile on his face. That’s a gift. It opens the door to talk a little.”
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
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