Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on August 15^th I had the privilege of preaching at the tenth anniversary of the ordination of the Rev. Ralph Tausz. The Feast of St. Mary, Mother of Our Lord, provided the perfect opportunity to talk about how Christian faith depends upon the preaching and hearing of God’s Word through which the Holy Spirit conceives us in the faith and preserves us in that one true faith. Even as Mary heard the Word of the Lord and believed the Lord would accomplish what is impossible for men, so we who cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus are called by that same Holy Gospel.

It was a time to reflect with joy once again on how the saints of Our Father’s have willingly supported and encouraged those who have been sent to the seminary from our congregation. As faithful hearers you have rejoiced when one of the hearers is called to be a preacher. This is an opportune time to reflect on the mysterious way God works in the Church and our own part in that.

Pastor Tausz did not grow up at Our Father’s. He was a member of Oklahoma Avenue Lutheran Church for many years. He attended Martin Luther High School and benefitted from the good education and the teaching of the faith. His family sought to hand down the faith to him as a member of the next generation. Yet, he did not go off to a synodical college and then enter the seminary. Instead, after college he worked for Allen Edmonds in a corporate job. So how did he end up as a pastor?

It turns out that while he was growing up, Amy Bliese grew up at Our Father’s attending the school and then Martin Luther High School. Her grandfather had been a missionary in India. Her father was the first principal of our school and her mother taught in the school for many years. She also had the tradition of handing down the faith from generation to generation. Amy went off to Concordia River Forest and became a Lutheran teacher like her parents. Her love for the Gospel that she had been taught led her to desire handing it on to the next generation. When she ended up teaching in Milwaukee she met the young man she had known in high school, Ralph Tausz. As a good Lutheran girl who was influenced by her parents and grandparents, she desired to talk about the most important thing—faith in Christ—and sharing that as husband and wife.

After their wedding they ended up on the south side and began attending here. They heard the Word together, were strengthened by the liturgy and hymnody, and were encouraged by their fellow members of the Body of Christ. In other words, as members of the congregation you influenced Ralph to see the importance of the Word and Sacrament in the life of the people of God. Ralph began to spend more time reading Lutheran theology and coming to talk with me when he had the opportunity. Through the encouragement of Amy, family members, and others Ralph decided to enter the seminary as he came to confess that the faith needs to be handed down from generation to generation by those who desire to faithfully proclaim the same Gospel that had comforted him. God in His own mysterious way through human means or masks, as Luther would say, called Ralph Tausz to speak the Word of Truth.

While he was at the seminary, you supported him with your prayers, offerings, and words of encouragement. He was the first to attend the seminary while a member of Our Father’s (Dave Jung had joined another congregation while at seminary from 1981-1984). You have understood the necessity of having more preachers in order that the faith once delivered to the saints might be handed down to the next generation. Without you, the Lutheran school and high school that you support, and your willingness to give to the seminarians, who knows what might have happened. This is why our own Lutheran school is so important to handing down the faith from generation to generation.