Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Please Pray for the Family of a Seminary Classmate Who Died Last Evening

If you're a regular reader of Better Living, I have a special request to make of you. Please pray that God will comfort and encourage the family and friends of Pastor Dave Drewes, who died last evening. He was 49.

Dave and I were seminary classmates, although I chose to extend my seminary training by one year and we didn't actually graduate together.

Dave Drewes was one of the most talented people I ever met. Not only was he a fantastic communicator of the Gospel, both in his preaching and writing, and a winsome leader, he was also a fine musician, who played guitar, composed, and recorded his own music, and a terrific, insightful cartoonist.

Dave had, for about eleven years now, served as pastor of Saint John Lutheran Church in Lithopolis, Ohio. (That's just outside of Columbus.) He played the lead role in that congregation's decision to financially partner with the congregation I was called to start here in the Cincinnati area some fifteen years ago, Friendship Lutheran Church. That came in the early years of our church's life and was enormously helpful.

Some of the members of Friendship met Dave a few years back, as we exchanged pulpits, he preached at Friendship and I did the same at Lithopolis. In the back of my mind, I stewed a bit that the people here wouldn't want me back after hearing Dave!

Please ask God to sustain a grieving family and congregation as they mourn Dave's passing. Ask too, that God will fill them with the empowering hope of Jesus' resurrection!

1 comment:

MuppetLvr said...

Thank you for your post about Pastor Drewes. In 1993, I attended the national youth gathering in Dallas, TX, and Pastor Drewes was the hotel pastor of my hotel. He and his colleagues also performed as the ClericalAires one night, and I still enjoy listening to the cassette tapes I purchased way back then. (His wife was the daughter of a pastor that had served in Batesville, IN, where my father was serving at the time--which gave us our initial connection.) Now, I am a studnet at Wartburg Theological Seminary. Last night as i couldn't sleep, I was playing "where are they now" on the internet when I found your post. I was saddened to hear of Pastor Drewes death, and I will always remember him fondly.