As many of you are aware, Pastor McClean returned home from his hospital stay on February 20. He has completed a day program and is continuing his recovery at home. However, it is with great sadness that the Church Council received his resignation as pastor of Our Saviour effective March 31, 2026 at its March Meeting this past Tuesday. He has also written a farewell letter to the congregation, which is attached to this newsletter. We are planning a farewell for him on May 31 at the Divine Service, with a luncheon to follow. Be on the lookout for further details as the date draws near. If you would like to send a card or note to Pastor McClean, his address is 4 Upland Rd., Baltimore, MD, 21210.

On March 7, the council met with Pastor Eric Bednash of St. James Lutheran Church. He is the Circuit Visitor for Circuit 3, of which Our Saviour is a part. Pastor Bednash began by asking the council members about the challenges Our Saviour faces as well as the strengths with which we have been blessed. Not surprisingly, the challenges generally center around membership and attendance concerns and the resulting impact those challenges have on our ability to financially afford a pastor as well as the fact that we are an aging congregation. The strengths include our welcoming nature as a congregation; service in the community including the holiday gift cards, our support of GEDCO, and the free flea markets; our beautiful building and the fact that we have relatively little deferred maintenance; and most importantly, the gifts of Word and Sacraments we receive each week in Divine Service conducted reverently and accompanied by music from the organ with which we have been so richly blessed.

Pastor Bednash discussed a number of the options open to us, which range from calling a pastor, to being part of a dual or multi-point parish, merging with another congregation, or raising up someone in the congregation to become a pastor via the Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) program. This program is meant for congregations for whom calling a full-time pastor is problematic due to location, finances, or other considerations. It is a four-year program, administered by the synodical seminaries, that begins with the candidate taking courses (mostly online, but with some on-campus intensives) while beginning his service as vicar in the church. Ordination occurs at the end of those two years, and an additional two-years of study are then completed. It is ‘specific ministry’ since the candidate is authorized to serve only in that specific place. This is all done under the supervision of a local pastor as well as the district president.

So over the coming weeks and months we will have a number of things to consider. A particular time to understand and act on this path forward will be our upcoming Spring Voters Assembly meeting immediately following Divine Service on May 17. Pastor Bednash will be with us that day to preach and celebrate the sacrament and also to guide us in our discussions regarding our path forward. In addition to this discussion, we will elect the church council members for the coming year and approve an operating budget for fiscal year 2027. Please mark your calendars and plan on attending that day so you can be a part of this path forward. If you would like to serve on the church council or nominate someone, please contact Gabe Purviance (gpurviance@comcast.net).

Many thanks to Scott Jones, who, in addition to the excellent devotions he has prepared for our midweek Lenten vespers services (each Wednesday through March 25 at 7:30 PM), has been leading a most fascinating Sunday morning Bible study this Lent on Christ’s passion across the four Gospels. We meet each Sunday at 9:45 AM. After a week’s break to celebrate Easter, we will resume with a study of the risen Christ from the empty tomb to His throne in heaven. Please join us for these most edifying discussions.

We offer a belated welcome to Kenneth Kepler, our new organist. Ken, who started his service at Our Saviour on January 18, comes to us most recently from Nichols-Bethel United Methodist Church, Odenton, Maryland and brings more than forty years as a church musician to us. He is most conscientious in his preparation and playing and has done an excellent job of learning the Lutheran liturgy and hymns. We are fortunate to have him. If you have not yet had the opportunity, please greet him and welcome him.

With Frank Ford, we mourn the recent death of his daughter, Yolanda. Please do keep Mr. Ford in your prayers and look for an announcement in the near future regarding her memorial service.

We continue to remember in prayer Pastor McClean, Bridget Bauman, James Bauman, Christopher Bell, Bertha Buchanan, Dana Carmichael, Tim Doswell, Quilla Downs, Bunny Duckett, Joyce Eaves, Frank Ford, Iris Ford, Sean Fortune, Lynne Funck, Katherine Gray, Sherry James, Gloria Jones, Byron Masterson, Crista Mohr, Mary Mokris, Elliott Robertson, Julia Silver, Robert Siperek Jr., Lawrence Smallwood, Paul Swank, George Volkman, Gary Watson, Marvalisa, Sierra, Jonathan and Steven Gibson.

Looking beyond Easter, we will again have our Free Flea Markets this year. Judy Volkman continues to lead our efforts there and this year they will be each second Saturday of the month, April through September, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Please contact Judy Volkman for more information or to volunteer.

We are asking everyone to update their contact information if at all possible. If you have email, you can send a message to oslbaltimore@yahoo.com or call the church office at (410) 235–9553 and leave a message. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to reach out via this phone number or email.

As we live our lives at this time of year, we must dedicate ourselves to devotion and remembrance of what our dear Lord Jesus accomplished on the cross of Calvary for our salvation. Please avail yourselves of the worship opportunities of midweek vespers and the Holy Week and Easter services noted above. In addition, there will again be Good Friday Tre-Ore (‘Three Hour’) worship at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4815 Hamilton Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21206. The service is conducted between noon and 3:00 PM, the hours our Lord hung on the cross. There will also be light luncheon fare provided. This is a ‘come when you can, leave when you must’ service, so do not feel you need to stay for the whole three hours. We hope to see everyone at these most sacred celebrations of our Lord’s death and resurrection.

In Christ and on behalf of the Church Council,
Paul Techau, Council President