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This May, the people of Messiah Lutheran Church gathered for two memorable weekends marking a joyful transition in our life together.

On Sunday, May 19, we gave thanks for the remarkable ministry of Pastor Franz Schemmel, Messiah’s founding pastor, as he entered retirement after more than 45 years of ordained ministry. Pastor Franz first began serving the Weatherford area in the 1990s as pastor of Hope Lutheran in Springtown, and went on to lead the effort to establish a new worshiping community here in Weatherford. He became the mission pastor of Messiah in 1999 and the called pastor in 2003 when Messiah was officially formed as a congregation within the ELCA. Pastor Franz has been a passionate advocate for justice and inclusion in both church and society, leading countless efforts across our synod and state, and offering steady, faithful leadership to this congregation for over two decades. We are grateful that while he now enters retirement, he and his wife Ann will remain a part of our congregation as members—and Pastor Franz now carries the honorary title Pastor Emeritus.

Then, on Memorial Day weekend, we celebrated the ordination and installation of Pastor Trent Ormsbee-Hale as the next called pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church. Pastor Trent was ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament on Saturday, May 24 at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Fort Worth and was installed at Messiah the following morning, Sunday, May 25. These joyful occasions brought together members of the congregation, friends from across the region, ecumenical partners, and leaders of the wider Church. We give thanks for Pastor Trent’s call to serve among us and for all who made the weekend celebrations beautiful, spirit-filled, and welcoming.

As one chapter closes and another begins, we are reminded that the Church is not built on any one individual, but on the foundation of Christ. Yet we are also reminded how richly we are blessed when God calls faithful servants to walk with us along the way.

We give thanks to God for Pastor Franz, for Pastor Trent, and for the Spirit’s continued work among us as we look to the future with hope and joy.