Presidents Letter to the Congregation for August 2008:

Dear Friends in Christ,

We are all still reeling from the news about Pastor Tim’s decision and by the time this is in your hands, he will be well on his way to Sioux Falls. As a native South Dakotan and 23 year resident there, I know that they will enjoy it, cold and all (it is a dry cold). As we have been discussing this with Tim over the past several weeks, he has always told us that Living Water is Christ’s Church and not Tim Selbo’s Church. Most of us know that there was certainly a strong partnership of both that made Living Water what it is today.

Now, I have to tell you how impressed I have been with the Congregation as a whole since the news was released. Yes, I had calls from some that said it was time for them to move on! Overwhelmingly, however, the message I received was a whole lot better. I cannot tell you how many people have called me, emailed me or summoned me aside at a Sunday service to say: “Ken, I know how much the Council is going to be challenged over the next few months and I want to let you know that I will help out in any way possible.” “Let me know what we can do to help.” As a Council Member, I cannot tell you how much this means to me and fellow Council Members. I can assure you that we will be looking to many for help as we move ahead positively. There are many Ministry Team positions open today and we will hope to fill them soon. We need these teams to help lead Living Water forward.

We are very fortunate to have Pastor Kifer with us as a solid foundation of our past as we go through the “interim” period. She will continue her role as Associate Pastor and relieve a big responsibility to the incoming Interim Senior Pastor. At around the time you receive this, we hope to be able to tell you who will be our Interim Senior Pastor. Pastor Kifer and I have talked about this process and she is totally committed to making this a smooth transition; she will work closely with the Interim Pastor. We are blessed to have her with us to help through this time. I know that the Congregation stands behind her and is willing to do all they can to help out with her Ministry as we go forward.

At our July 6 Sunday service, we took Congregational Photos and then more on the 13^th. What I saw in these photos was the great love by our Congregation members for the Selbo family. I also saw excitement from the Congregation about the Selbos’ great opportunity as they move on to Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls. I think I even saw excitement about this move in all of the Selbo family, although with some trepidation. We know that they will find much happiness in their new home and Congregation and have many life long memories of this experience.

On July 20^th, we became a Congregation that needs all of our strength to pull us together and come out of this time stronger as a result of everyone’s efforts. We have a lot of potential new members attending at this time. Let’s put our best foot forward and show them that we are Christ’s Church and they are welcome amongst us, just as you have done for the past 11 years!

Once again, thank you to Pastor Tim Selbo for his vision, his leadership and his faith that has brought Living Water to where we are today and I ask that we all work together to fulfill his wish that we move ahead as a unified Congregation to continue our Mission; “To Be and Make Disciples of Jesus Christ”.

In Christ

Ken Walker

Council President