Ernie

Ernie

Nope! Not the Ernie from the Sesame Street partnership of Bert and Ernie. This Ernie was a real live person who had a profound effect on my life. He was a congenial man in his mid sixties when I met him. He was a large man with a gentle smile and big hands; a butcher by trade before entering the ministry.

Ernie was the pastor of the Episcopal church Judy and I attended when we moved to Bozeman years ago. I was drawn to the man not only by his countenance but also by the way he preached. He was a down home kind of guy who often took on the personality of a Bible character when preaching. The Bible came alive when Ernie stepped into the pulpit.

When I made an appointment to arrange the baptism of Shaun, our first child, Ernie engaged me in a conversation about my background. He discovered that I had been a Catholic priest who was struggling with his relationship with God. Being a wise man, Ernie began a mentoring relationship that brought me through some dark waters and eventually an invitation to return to ministry in the Episcopal church.

Last Thanksgiving, Judy and I along with our daughter and son in law went to a worship service at St. James, the church we attended years ago. There on the wall that led to the parish hall, was a framed photo of Ernie commemorating his years of service. It was like meeting an old friend, remembering the man who took me under his wing and opened a door to ministry that seemed sealed for life.

Many years have passed. I heard that Ernie retired from public ministry and moved to Oregon. Now he and his wife Edith have now gone home to be with the Lord.  I am thankful that the Lord put Ernie in my life at a strategic moment in time to befriend, encourage and show me the way back to my relationship with God.

I am continually amazed how the Lord puts people in my life to inspire and counsel me along the way. The Bible says: “Iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”