Our Faith Partnership has called

 

The Rev. Richard Klafehn

 

 

Clergy-in-charge of Resurrection

&

Pastor of Grace & Prince of Peace

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear friends in Christ,

 


I would like to call your attention to the  opportunity to come together for an Adult Study program that I will be offering on Tuesday nights in January and February.   This 12 session course is titled "From Here to Community". We will meet from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm on January 17 and 24 at the Church of the Resurrection. Location thereafter will rotate among our three congregations.  Please consider joining us.

 

Following the holiday season when we focus so much on children and youth, I would encourage you to consider the possibility of developing other adult study activities.  Studies show that a healthy adult education program is a sign of healthy congregations.   Recent studies of teens reveal that youth typically can express their faith only as well as their parents. It seems, the best way to help the faith formation of youth and teens is to help parents, grandparents, and other adults who serve youth – and to involve them personally in our children’s religious education.

It is challenging for me to find time to offer adult education personally in each of our congregations.  I also know there are a number of gifted educators and spiritual leaders in each of them.  I will be thrilled to assist class facilitators or teacher volunteers in each congregation to create multiple opportunities, topics, and themes for small group Bible studies, prayer groups, and other learning events – the review and selection of materials, guidance along the way, and announcing the opportunities among all our congregations.

 

Please pray for the Search/Call Committee and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as they seek God's direction for a second clergy member for our faith partnership.  Members from here are Doren Norfleet and Kathy Nice.

 

God’s blessing to you in the coming  New Year.

Pastor Richard K. Klafehn

 

 

 

 

 

During a history making event,  two bishops from different church denominations participated in the Installation Service for The Reverend Richard Klafehn  at the Church of the Resurrection on Saturday, October 22.  The Lutheran Bishop Marie C. Jerge (left) and the Episcopal Bishop Gladstone “Skip” Adams (right) installed The Reverend Richard Klafehn to preside over our three Faith Partnership churches which include The Episcopal Church of the Resurrection(Oswego), Grace Lutheran Church (Oswego) and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (Fulton). Welcome aboard Pastor Rick.


 

 

 

 

 

 

Bishop Jerge       Pastor Rick     Bishop Adam

 

 

 

Pastor Richard K. Klafehn is an Upstate NY native, raised near Hamlin Beach State Park along Lake Ontario.  After Lutheran parochial elementary school education, he graduated from Brockport High School, and Valparaiso University (BA 1979, Philosophy and Honors Humanities).  He attended Yale Divinity School, New Haven, CT, and Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, OH (M.Div.,1983); and Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (M.Th., 1986).  He interned in Roseville, MI, a Detroit suburb.

 

He comes to us from Rochester, NY, where he has been most recently serving three congregations concurrently in Irondequoit, Webster, and Penfield.  He helped Bethlehem, Penfield, and St. Martin, Webster, write and enter into a new covenant to do mission and ministry together.  Ordained in June 1983, he was first a youth pastor in Chicago, IL.  He then served congregations in rural central Pontiac, IL, and in Olean and Portville, NY (a “two-point” parish”), and Irondequoit, NY.  In Olean in the 1990’s, the congregation relocated and built a brand new facility.

 

Faith active in deeds of love, both of charity and justice, has been significant in Pastor Klafehn’s ministry.  Previously he has served on boards for a county mental health agency, a pastoral counseling service, and a church camp; helped found a shelter for homeless families and a senior transportation service; supported founding a community food cupboard; and tried to establish a Hispanic outreach ministry.  He spent a sabbatical learning about faith-based community organizing and led a team providing training in faith-based community organizing training to Lutheran pastors and congregations in Upstate NY Synod.  He is a member of Bread for the World, a non-partisan Christian education and political advocacy organization on behalf of hungry people in our country and worldwide.  In all his ministries he has been active in community ecumenical organizations; he has served as an officer.

 

Pastor Klafehn and his wife Dianne enjoy walking along the lake shore and river in Rochester and watching the sunsets, and they look forward to doing that in Oswego.  Between them, they have 3 sons, Wesley, Zachary, and Joshua, 1 married daughter Patricia (Jarrod), and two grandsons, Mark and Miles. Dianne recently retired from the Irondequoit Public Library.  In addition to walking along the lake shore, he enjoys time with family, watching baseball, reading, Sudoku, travel, mowing the lawn, gardening and light yard work.

Pastor Rick's Office hours will be 9 am - 12 pm:

 

Tuesday - Grace Lutheran

Wednesday - Prince of Peace

Thursday - Resurrection

 

Pastor Rick can be reached:

 

By message through the parish Secretary or Wardens

By phone: 593-7533, 343-3501, 343-4280

By email to:  rkklafehn@gmail.com

 

 




 

 

 

 

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