Pastor Mark retiring after June 28 Service
After 15½ years and over 800 sermons, Pastor Mark Ward will be hanging up his liturgical robe come June 28, 2020.
Pastor Mark will be delivering his final sermon that morning as the called pastor of St. Peter and Christ Lutheran Churches.
Worship services at St. Peter Lutheran begin at 10:45 a.m. that day.
(The original plan to have only one combined service that morning over at Christ Lutheran was cancelled. Each congregation will have its own service.)
And in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no meal after church that day.
Pastor Mark was installed as pastor of the two congregations on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 3, 2004, at Christ Lutheran Church.
Pastor Mark and wife Cindy have lived in Fredericksburg over the years and earlier in the year, sold their home in Fredericksburg and moved into their newly remodeled/expanded home on their ranch west of Harper.
The Ward family includes two children – Matthew and Erin – who both live and work in Fredericksburg.
Second career pastor
After retiring from a career in the petroleum industry, Pastor Mark attended and graduated from the Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest in Austin.
He was ordained into the ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on Oct. 9, 2004, at Preston Meadow Lutheran Church in Plano, and began his ministry at St. Peter Lutheran and Christ Lutheran Churches shortly thereafter on Nov. 1.
Pastor Mark had originally announced his retirement to be effective May 31, but after the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world, chose to stay on board until the end of June.
St. Peter and Christ Lutheran will be served by an interim pastor until a new pastor is called.
More information will be announced in the coming weeks.
