By Pastor Matt Hein and Family
Have you ever had to sit down and write the introduction of your family? Have you tried to capture who you are as individuals and as a family unit in just a couple of paragraphs, attempting to communicate the depth of all God is shaping you to be? Where do you begin and end?
We could begin by telling you all the facts about Pastor Matt leaving a career in Geology to attend Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, completing vicarage in Gainesville, FL, spending 3.5 years at his first Call at Trinity, Wausau, WI and over 4 years in New Richmond, and how his passion for discipleship began.
We could inform you that Pastor Matt & Jennifer have been married 12+ years and have had 10 (soon to be 11!) mailing addresses during that time.
We could introduce you to our 4 children born in 3 different cities: Gideon (7), Miriam (6), Eden (2) and Silas (14 mos).
We could even tell you about how Jennifer, a former high school Spanish teacher, now homeschools our kids and runs a wellness business from home.
But when it comes down to it, none of those things completely captures what our family is about. Perhaps an easier way is to give you a mashup of words that represent some of the most important (yet ordinary) things to the members of our little family that God has woven together….
home – Narnia – fun – neighborhood – dreaming big – wellness – learning -caring for creation – kindness – generosity – discipleship – reading – dancing – The Sound of Music – family – Legos – graham crackers – laughter – fishing – serving -hiking – big water – discovery – adventure – vegetable gardening – Jesus – flowers – ethnic food – tea parties – singing – travel – mission of God – baking – friendship – microbrew – science – JRR Tolkien – healthy eating – adoption – living simply – family bike rides – coffee – leadership – campfires – butterflies – community – real food – hydrangeas
More than anything we could tell you about ourselves, the most important is that Jesus is in the middle of all these Hein family words, and we are excited to experience them on our discipleship journey together with you!
We are a family on a mission to hear and follow Jesus’ voice in the ordinary, everyday experiences of life together.
Much like a tapestry being woven together, where the front shows a vision coming together but the back looks like a jumbled maze, God is now weaving the Hein family together into the tapestry of St. Luke, Ann Arbor. We can’t wait to discover the mashup words that will help us know where Jesus is in the middle of your life. Even better, we are excited to follow Jesus with you!
Pastor Matthew Hein will be installed as Associate Pastor -Minster of Discipleship in worship at St. Luke–Ann Arbor at 10:00 AM on Sunday, May 25.
Following the service, we will enjoy a Memorial Day Grill-Out with the Hein family in the St. Luke parking lot. Please join us and bring a dish to pass: (A-H) chips/veggies & dips; (I-R) salads; and (S-Z) desserts.
If you are available to help cook, set up, or tear down for that day, or if you would like to volunteer help the Hein family in their transition, please email Sean Egmon at segmon@gmail.com.