This week, Scott was joined by Rev. Trent Ormsbee-Hale, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Weatherford, TX. For long-time listeners, that congregation might be familiar, because he served with and then followed Texas Impact’s past Board President, Rev. Franz Schemmel as the pastor upon Franz’s retirement.
Scott and Trent reminisced on their shared history. Scott knew Trent and his husband Anthony while they were undergraduate students. At that time, Trent was discerning his journey in ministry, coming out of a Fransiscan background in a journey that led him to now serving as an Evangelical Lutheran pastor.
The conversation centered on what faithful advocacy and justice work looks like when faith leaders serve communities that might not always share all of our values. There are countless faith leaders serving in contexts where many in their congregations feel isolated or worried and find comfort in their congregation being a safe place to worship, gather and/or engage in justice work.
Trent gave voice to concerns, challenges and opportunities experienced by many faith leaders living and working in rural Texas.
To learn more or get involved, check out Texas Impact’s Action Center at texasimpact.org.
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Weekly Witness is hosted by Scott Atnip and engineered and produced by David Vassallo. Our executive producer is Bee Moorhead. Theme music by Kimberly Zielnicki, Hayden Havard and Andres Garcia-Bonilla. The opinions expressed on Weekly Witness are those of Texas Impact and our guests, and they do not necessarily reflect the views of our sponsors. Weekly Witness is a product of Texas Impact. Visit us online at texasimpact.org.