By TIM UNRUH
Salina Journal
First to bolt from the church on Palm Sunday was organist Audrey Arends, and following close behind was the Rev. Ron MacLennan.
The pair had completed a service for the congregation of 26 at Marion Hill Lutheran Church in Morris County, eight miles northeast of White City.
It was Communion Sunday, as well, and McLennon, 63, predicted the worship would run long. It did, by about four minutes.
"I'm taking off as soon as I shake hands," the bearded travelling preacher announced as he assembled in the tiny narthex of the stone church.
With other flocks to serve, there was little time for fellowship, much less lunch.
MacLennan had a bit of cushion -- 45 minutes before the Palm Sunday service at Hebron Lutheran Church in Burdick, 30 miles away. There, another congregation awaited his biblical wisdom and spiritual guidance. MacLennan was set for an encore delivery of his sermon, "Jesus the Humble King."
MacLennan wished his loyal parishioners a wonderful day and then marched through the misty, late-morning air to his car.
Welcome to the world of Pulpit Supply, a service of Bethany College in Lindsborg, that fills preacher needs for a number of tiny church communities dotting central Kansas.
The creativity of the service is needed in an age when rural areas are losing population and churches struggle to survive.
Small congregations are willing to provide extra work to keep their churches going.
"People just come together," said Derek Schrader, Alta Vista, past president of the Marion Hill church council.
Organist Arends, Alta Vista, is not associated with Pulpit Supply, but like MacLennan, her Sundays are busy supplying music for two churches.
On Sunday, she sprinted to her sport utility vehicle, having just 20 minutes to make a service at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Alta Vista, a 10- to 15-minute drive.
She has provided music to both churches for at least a decade, Schrader said.
Pulpit Supply
MacLennan, who has a Ph.D., in theology, is an ordained minister whose full-time job is teaching religion courses at Bethany College. He's also in charge of filling voids for Pulpit Supply.
The college has been offering the service for more than a century. MacLennan is in his 24th year. During that time, he has helped put preachers in pulpits for some 4,000 Sunday services.
"I'm the pinch hitter," he said with a grin.
MacLennan and his wife, Marcia, a nonordained covenant minister, preach three to five services each Sunday. He maintains a list of some 12 other ministers, some professors at Bethany College, and many retired clergy, who serve small congregations within a 100-mile radius of the college. Other lay people, including retired Bethany College football coach Ted Kessinger, is on the list.
"When a congregation needs a pastor for a Sunday or for a short term, I arrange it," Ron MacLennan said.
The Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Kansas City, Mo., maintains a Pulpit Supply list on its Web site.
MacLennan handles needs for Lutheran churches from Junction City to communities west of Russell, north to Kansas-Nebraska border and as far south as Wichita.
Preachers or lay ministers are paid a suggested rate of $125 a service, plus 50.5 cents a mile for travel. Those are based on guidelines from the Central States Synod, said Derek Schrader, past-chairman of the Marion Hill church council.
But there is wiggle room in those fees, Ron MacLennan said. Churches pay what they can afford, and when collections are high enough.
"It's a guideline. I've done a couple freebies in my life, but most congregations want to treat you fairly," he said. "The theme is service."
Pulpit Supply offers many levels of spiritual leadership. Ron MacLennan arranges help for marriages, funerals, confirmations, also services planned for Wednesday night and holy days, such as Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
Lutherans and more
While most of the help is for Lutheran congregations, Pulpit Supply occasionally fills needs for other Protestant denominations.
There are different levels for preachers to fill in -- sometimes it's just one Sunday, and at others it can last for extended periods. Another level is full service or covenant pastoring, which includes hospital visits and counseling to church members.
Marcia MacLennan, a professor of religion and English at Kansas Wesleyan University, Salina, serves with Ron as a covenant pastor at the Excelsior Lutheran Church east of Wilson (the one with a lighted cross that is visible from Interstate Highway 70), and the Denmark Lutheran Church, 10 miles northwest of Lincoln.
Those congregations desire more service from their preaching pastors.
"We do all the hospital call and in- home visits at Denmark. Once a month we go to lunch at somebody's house. They have a list," she said. Charles Englund, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at Bethany College, shares responsibilities with Ron MacLennan at Peace Lutheran Church, New Cambria.
Englund is not ordained, so Ron MacLennan preaches Communion Sundays there once a month.
Those are permanent relationships.
Differences appreciated
At Marion Hill and Burdick, Ron MacLennan teams with Rev. Charles Christensen, Lindsborg, and sometimes others.
Their polar opposite styles are appreciated. Representing academia, Ron MacLennan supplies a deeply educated message. Christensen's message is less rehearsed, improvised.
"(Christensen) is fire and brimstone. He doesn't preach from text or notes, but from his heart," said Galen Johnson, church treasurer, Dwight.
Both preachers are "really good," said Charlotte Fielder, Council Grove.
She "grew up" in the Marion Hill Church, which was established in 1876. The building opened in 1879.
Charlotte and Bud Fielder were married there. Her grandparents are buried in the adjacent cemetery.
The Marion Hill and Burdick Lutheran preacher, John Gerry, retired in late December, and since that time, Pulpit Supply has provided the preachers.
"We enjoy the variety of pastors. Each one has a little different message to bring," said Loretta Stephenson, a church council member. She lives a mile and a half from the church
There are no complaints at Marion Hill. Members are fortunate to be close to Bethany College, said council member Gary Johnson.
"We're very well served. The only thing we miss is if somebody is sick," he said.
Preaching faith, love
The MacLennans can't think of better duty. They preach the faith, love their congregations, and in most cases escape the drudgery of handling the business side of a church. Those chores are handled by the church councils.
"I get 90 percent of the fun and only 10 percent of the grief," Ron MacLennan said. "You like the variety. You get that in the weather out here, too."
At their colleges, the MacLennans receive a daily dose of youth from their students, who mostly range in age from 18 to 23.
The churches and their family provide them contact with infants to centenarians, "the full span of life," Ron said.
With each having full-time jobs and avocations that are both demanding and rewarding, the key to making life work is to be organized, Marcia MacLennan said. She wrote her Easter Sunday sermon in March.
"I'm always looking ahead. I'm looking at possible sermon topics for May and most of June," she said.
The MacLennans work on Sunday -- they're preacher mileage totals about 12,000 miles a year -- so Saturdays are their time of rest at home in Lindsborg. Like most busy folks, home has its share of "dust and toys," Marcia said. "Serving others is far more important."
The MacLennans will occasionally join the congregation at Bethany Lutheran Church, Lindsborg, for special services and when weather prevents them from travelling to preach.
But the remainder of their religious appetite is supplied at the churches they serve.
"I can worship while I lead," Marcia said. "All of these places are filled with wonderful people. They have ministered to us along the way. They can't do enough for us, and we appreciate everything they do for us in a spiritual sense."
n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.
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