Pastor Al, as he is affectionately known by parishioners and the community alike, has enjoyed a couple months of retirement.
And he is ready to go back to work — but only part-time.
“He didn’t want to retire cold turkey,” says Lori, whose husband, Al Lewis, officially gave up his duties as a Lutheran Church Canada full-time pastor at the Zion Lutheran Church in Rimbey earlier this summer.
In September, Lewis will begin work as a part-time pastor at the Zion Lutheran Church in Prince George, B.C.
“As a pastor, you never fully retire,” explained Lewis.
Lewis and his wife are at the church, even though it is a weekday, as they are busy with Vacation Bible School. Some of their grandchildren, as well as their son, Paul, are in attendance at the school, so that makes the experience even more rewarding.
In the aftermath of the busy morning, Lewis takes a few moments to chat and reflect on his long serving career.
After graduating from the Lutheran Seminary in Edmonton and serving churches in British Columbia, Lewis was installed as pastor in Rimbey on Oct. 5, 1997.
Now, almost 16 years later, Lewis knows he made a good choice.
“I didn’t even know where Rimbey was,” he recalled with a chuckle. “I had to look it up on the map.”
But he believes God had a hand in the move.
“It was the right move at the right time,” he said.
During the time spent in Rimbey he has come to love the community.
And, the community, no doubt, returns the feeling, and his friendly face is familiar, not only behind the pulpit on Sunday mornings but when he is out and about.
Before retirement, Lewis, as a member of the ministerial association, regularly took his turn visiting the hospital, and holding services at the long-term care centre and the manor.
Now that he has retired, he can still be seen at the farmers’ market on Saturday mornings helping out with the pancake breakfasts.
Lewis believes being a pastor is much more than just preaching God’s word.
“We are members of the community. This is our home. My philosophy is home is where you make it and you need to find the good there. If you can’t find the good in something, you have to do something about it.”
Lewis walks the talk and does his part to make a difference. As a member of the Community Wellness Committee, he has worked to bring awareness and education about family violence and bullying, two issues of concern in Rimbey.
The long-time pastor is saddened more young families have chosen not to attend Sunday services, although he understands the pressures of work, adding both the oil patch workers and farmers and ranchers put in long, hard hours.
“They are too busy,” he said. “Too busy doing stuff but they need to know the Christian faith needs to be an important part of their life. It needs to be a priority. And they can pass that faith onto the next generation.”
Lewis believes it’s important to follow the Ten Commandments. He also believes people need to remember not to take themselves too seriously.
“Laughter is a good thing,” he said. “And sometimes it seems we’ve forgotten how to laugh at ourselves.”
Lewis has three grown daughters and he and his wife, Lori have a 10-year-old son. The couple has nine grandchildren and another grandchild is due in October.