July 2013 – Pr. Anthony’s Letter

Greetings to you, Circle of Faith Parish. I am Anthony Christoffels, your new lead pastor. This has been a long awaited time for both of us and I am excited for what God is doing in this place.

A little about myself, I grew up in Chandler, MN (a small agricultural community with a population around 250). I received my undergraduate degree in Construction Management from North Dakota State University in 2008. Afterwards I went to Luther Seminary to get a Master of Divinity degree. My wife, Stephanie, and I both graduated from Luther Seminary on May 19th of this year and were ordained on June 1st.

Stephanie and I met while working at Shetek Lutheran Ministries in 2007. At that time we were both already looking at and talking about going to seminary. We did our internships in Southeastern South Dakota and received a wonderful surprise while we were there. In May of that year, we welcomed our son, Nicholas, into the world. Nicholas is a busy-body toddler who is running all over the place and getting into everything, but we are loving every minute of it. Stephanie has accepted the call to serve Partners in Ministry in Trimont. We will be living at the parsonage next to First Lutheran in Trimont. Both of us are really excited to being a part of the Trimont, Welcome, and Ceylon communities. In my spare time I like to be in the great outdoors. I enjoy fishing, camping, bicycling, hiking, and woodworking. And of course spending time with my family.

I thank God for all of the work that has already been done in getting Circle of Faith Parish started on the right foot. In just my first week, I have been seeing and hearing all of the many blessings that these three congregations have received. I look forward to the partnership that we will have as we do ministry together and I ask that you pray for your councils and your pastor. God bless Circle of Faith Parish as we begin together.

In Christ,

Pastor Anthony