OLDS — Pastor John Lentz, who has served St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Olds for 22 years, received a noisy, friendly sendoff on April 30, his last day of ministry in the community before he becomes a pastor in Red Deer this fall.
About 30 vehicles took part – including at least one RCMP cruiser -- Lentz has served as a detachment chaplain for years -- a bylaw officer and a couple of youth on bikes.
Lots of horns and sirens were sounded as the vehicles drove by the church. Lentz and his wife Karen waved to all and exchanged some jokes and pleasantries.
Members of the congregation said something had to be done because a farewell party can’t be held yet due to the need for social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, they're hopeful some kind of farewell event can be held later.
Lentz starts his new job as pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Red Deer on Aug. 1.
He says a new pastor will take over in Olds “eventually.” However, he figures an interim pastor will assume his duties at St. Paul’s in the meantime.
Lentz may also end up delivering services to St. Paul’s from Red Deer for the next week or two.
“We’ll be patching together a little bit,” he said during an interview as the parade went by.
“We’ll be doing the service over the church’s Facebook and YouTube, like a lot of churches are doing these days.”
After those two weeks, Lentz will be on a sabbatical until beginning his new post in the fall.
His wife Karen will continue teaching in Bowden.
Lentz says St. Paul’s has a congregation of more than 150 people. He estimates the Red Deer congregation to be 200 to 250.
He was asked how it feels to leave St. Paul’s after 22 years.
“Well, you look forward to a challenge going some place new, but also, because we’ve been here for such a long time, this group is like family,” he said.
“Some of these young kids here, I’m the only pastor that they’ve ever known here. So it is kind of a bit of a heart-tug, I think in a lot of ways.”
Lentz said he will miss many aspects of his time in Olds, including not only serving as chaplain to the RCMP but also as chaplain to the local branch of the Sober Riders which meets in St. Paul’s.
The couple hopes to sell their house but Lentz concedes it’s a pretty tough market right now, so he may be commuting for some time.
At age 59, Lentz admitted theoretically he’s not that far away from retirement.
“I guess in my business, retirement is only a word,” he said with a laugh, noting many retired pastors end up serving as interim pastors for various congregations.
Lentz had an inkling something was up when a few ladies came into the office.
“When they came in and they wanted to know about where everything was in the office, I had an idea that, ‘OK, there’s something going on here,’ because they know where everything is in the office,” he said with a laugh.
“I didn’t expect anything like this, obviously. But it was a wonderful gesture on their part.”
