When did you start attending Community?

We started attending Community two years ago. My wife and I moved to San Diego from Ohio. We moved to San Diego because, one, we had lived in California before. And second, my daughter (who lives in San Diego) and my wife had been discussing things, I’m sure. We were invited out here for Christmas one year so we came out for three or four weeks and stayed with them. The next year we came back again and that’s when I figured out I was being set up. So we bought a house.

We are retired and live retired. I was a great pastor in my day, but this is no longer my day.

How long were you a Pastor?

37 years. I was married and had two kids before I started the seminary. I went into the Army right out of high school. After the Army, I carried mail for two years. I went to night school and then I moved to Springfield seminary with my wife and two kids. While I was in the seminary we had another son. Instead of a normal vicarage, they sent me to Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. I was the campus pastor for the students at Drake University for two years, and I had a church there that I was a part of too. While I was there, I also managed to graduate from the university with a degree in psychology. My first parish was in Bloomington, IL, then San Lorenzo, CA, and finally Columbus, OH. Each one of them grew, some more than others. I love the Lord, and I love the ministry.

I am also retired from the Army. I served for a total time of 20 years.  My first two years were active duty. Then, when I was in Bloomington back in 1968 there were riots in Chicago. They were calling up all the National Guardsmen, but these young guardsmen were scared to death. So they came to me, and I was counselling them and getting together with them. One day, their commander called me and asked me to meet to him. I went and talked to him and came home a First Lieutenant with a Chaplain’s Cross. I put in another 18 years as chaplain.

Would you tell me about your family?

I grew up in Seymour Indiana. I have six brothers and two sisters. Three of my brothers were in the Second World War. My second oldest was in a prison camp in Germany for almost a year. He is 92 years old now.

Ginny and I met in the 7^th grade. On the first day of 7^th grade, she transferred to our town and came into our grade. I talked with her at recess, and I’ve said this all my life, that I’m positive the Lord told me this is who you are going to marry.

My twin sister invited Ginny out to the farm. She and I went horseback riding and found a big oak tree and we carved our initials in the oak tree. Now you don’t date when you are in the 7^th grade but we cared about each other. We didn’t really go together much until our senior year. When I went off to the army we wrote and about a year after I was in the army I came home and gave her a diamond. I went back into the army for another year and we wrote to each other. I got out of the army on the 18^th of November and we got married on the 22^nd of November (Thanksgiving Day). Now in Indiana you had to have a marriage license for three days before it was valid. We’ll my 21^st birthday was November 20^th, but I had to get our marriage license on November 19^th. So my dad had to go along side of me to get my marriage license.

We have four boys and one daughter.  Our daughter lives in Scripps Ranch. We have one son in Seattle and our other three sons live on the East Coast. Every two years we get all our kids together, and all our grandkids, and all our great grandkids.

What is one fun place you’ve traveled since you’ve been retired?

We have very good friends from our church in Oakland named Tom and Judy. In 2004, the two of them, my wife, and I drove cross country from Chicago to the pier down here along route 66 with a camper. It took about three weeks because we stopped whenever we wanted to. We just enjoyed the journey.

In 2006 we celebrated our 50^th wedding anniversary and we took the whole family on a Disney cruise. We had about 50 people along. That was a lot of fun.

WHAT IS THE COMMUNITY TREE PROJECT? 

Community Lutheran Church is a growing congregation worshiping 550 people between two campuses each week. As we continue grow, it is important that our relationships with one another continue to grow as well.  Over the coming months, our church website and Facebook page will be introducing you to a member of Community that you may or may not know yet. You’ll have the opportunity to learn a little about each member and delight in the different personalities and lifestyles that come together each week to worship our Savior.

When you join us for worship on Sunday mornings or events throughout the week, we encourage you to reach out and connect with someone you don’t normally talk to. As Pastor Vogelsang so eloquently reminds us, we are all “dear Christian friends.” We just don’t know each other yet! I’d like to change that one photo at a time.

"So that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." - 1 Corinthians 12:25-27