50 Years of Blessings and Miracles in the Ministry

Left to right: Rev. Keith Hoveland, Rev. Ken Rodeman, and Rev. Robert Mohns.

“An Unlikely Candidate” — 50 Years of Ministry

by Ken Rodeman

June 28, 2020, was a day full of celebration and rejoicing at Zion Lutheran Church in Golden Spike as I celebrated fifty years in ministry. Rev. Keith Hoveland led the worship service and Regional Pastor Rev. Robert Mohns preached and presented a certificate from Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) noting the milestone.

I grew up on a farm with parents who were alcoholics. My mother smoked and drank during the pregnancy, which resulted in a premature birth and several birth complications. I was born suffering from Fetal Alcohol Effects. Because of the FAE, I am dyslexic, suffer from ADHD, and have sight and hearing impairment. My assimilation and retention of knowledge was very poor. Most of the classes in my primary education had two sections: the main class and the slow learners. I was always in the slow learner section.

I grew up on a farm with parents who were alcoholics. My mother smoked and drank during the pregnancy, which resulted in a premature birth and several birth complications. I was born suffering from Fetal Alcohol Effects.

After becoming a pastor, my baptismal sponsors shared with me that they were convinced from the time of my birth that God was calling me to be a pastor. They told me how they prayed every day for healing and preparation for the ministry. When they saw improvement in my eyesight and the other complications caused by the FAE, they prayed even more fervently.

I started studying for the ministry in grade 11. Along the way, God placed the right friends who spent hours and hours of their time working with me and helping me learn. These friends were God’s gifts and His miracle workers helping with my pastoral education. One of these miracle workers, Kathy Merz, and I were married on Sunday, June 12, 1966. She was a blessing to me and many members of the congregations I served. We have two daughters, Aleta and Kori. Both of their husbands became pastors in LCC. More of God’s blessings.

After becoming a pastor, my baptismal sponsors shared with me that they were convinced from the time of my birth that God was calling me to be a pastor. They told me how they prayed every day for healing and preparation for the ministry. When they saw improvement in my eyesight and the other complications caused by the FAE, they prayed even more fervently.

On vicarage, God gave me a very gifted and encouraging supervisor, Rev. Winfred A. Schroeder. He was a loving, caring, and dedicated pastor and supervisor. He challenged me to take the two-year Bethel Bible Series teacher training during my vicarage. He became one of my mentors and played a huge role in my formation as a pastor. I attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, and graduated on May 29, 1970. Then, on July 19, I was ordained by Rev. Arnold Obermeier—my first pastor, the pastor who had baptized and confirmed me. Another blessing.

That September, I was commissioned to serve as Missionary-at-Large to the Montana District of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, and was stationed in West Yellowstone. In January of 1972, I accepted the call to Rocky Mountain House and Craig/Markerville, Alberta, moving to the province on January 16.

In Alberta, I served as pastor of Immanuel Lutheran in Rocky Mountain House, Christ Lutheran in Craig/Markerville, St. Peters Lutheran in Leduc, Victory Lutheran in Devon, and Peace Lutheran in Spruce Grove. I served Redeemer Lutheran in Edmonton as vacancy pastor, where I met my second wife, Elsie Mair, another of God’s rich blessings to me personally and a wonderful gift in my ministry. We were married on January 27, 2002, at Victory Lutheran in Devon. The temperature was -33° C. More memorable was the message delivered by Rev. Harold Witte, the music of the bagpiper, and the honours provide by the Leduc Fire Department Honour Guard, where I served as chaplain for 35 years. At Trinity Lutheran in Lacombe I served as Intentional Interim Pastor along with Rev. Harold Witte. And In 2001, I was contracted as the first chaplain to serve the Lutheran Hospital Ministry of Northern Alberta. I still serve in that capacity.

I started studying for the ministry in grade 11. Along the way, God placed the right friends who spent hours and hours of their time working with me and helping me learn. These friends were God’s gifts and His miracle workers helping with my pastoral education.

I saw Jesus do miracle after miracle in my ministry. I witnessed Jesus reconciling and healing families of alcoholics and drug addicts. As a hospital chaplain, I saw Jesus reconcile a man with his brother who had been estranged for decades. While I was chaplain of the fire department, we held a prayer vigil for one of the firefighters who was comatose in the hospital for more than a week with an unidentified virus. He woke up and regained his health. I also witnessed emergency responders and a pastor healed from post-traumatic stress disorder.

I was blessed to conduct adult instruction classes ranging from two to more than forty participants, and to witness the power of God’s Word changing their lives.

I am truly amazed at how God called such an unlikely candidate like me into the ministry.

I am truly amazed at how God called such an unlikely candidate like me into the ministry. I have done things wrong and have hurt people for which I am truly sorry and have asked for forgiveness. I know God has forgiven me, but some of the people I have hurt have not. I pray some day they will be able to.

On June 28, it was a real blessing at Zion Lutheran to have the very caring Rev. Hoveland conduct the worship service, to have his lovely wife Carole sing, to have Regional Pastor Mohns present a certificate commemorating my 50 years in the ministry, and to have attending, Floyd and Ellen Olsen, whom I confirmed as adults in Rocky Mountain House 47 years earlier—all this, along with a loving wife and caring congregation praising God together for what He has done.

But I assure you God isn’t done with me yet. He is still using and changing me. So I know there are more miracles and blessings to come.

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Rev. Ken Rodeman is chaplain with the Lutheran Hospital Ministry of Northern Alberta.

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