An Odyssey of Faith

Hans R. Arnesen

Hans Arnesen, an alum of LTSP, serves as Associate to the Bishop in the New England Synod

A cell phone call on the morning of Monday, April 28^th brought disturbing news and began what would prove to be the most challenging work of my pastoral ministry. Some members at Gustaf Adolph Lutheran Church in New Sweden, ME, had become violently ill following worship the previous day. One ill member of the church had died early in the morning, and a few others were hospitalized and on life support. I was stunned. These were the very people I had been with just two weeks previously to celebrate Palm Sunday and to confirm five of their youth.

Throughout that first day, attached to our phones, Bishop Margaret Payne and I would continue to learn more details, until it was determined that the most likely cause of the illnesses was arsenic. The next day police had ruled that the poisoning was intentional, and I was on my way north toward a situation of unfathomable proportions. Bishop Payne would follow a day behind me. The media was already showing a keen interest.

No textbook exists for such occurrences, and at times I felt I was skidding along. There was little sleep that first week. I lost weight.

But in the midst of it all, I was surprised to have enough resources to keep going and to face what was coming our way. I experienced that strange strength and peace of mind as manna in the wilderness, with enough given for the moment at hand. That manna was received through texts of hymns, scripture, prayer, and the companionship of Bishop Payne and others along the way. God provided, and while at times I wondered if it would be so, it was always enough to meet the moment.

Such testing can be a thing that confirms and invigorates faith. And so it has been with me, and I was privileged to see the same in many others these past weeks. We have been reminded yet again – painfully! -- that sin and brokenness are deeply a part of our world; but I have been equally reminded that God does not forsake us in our time of need. In fact, in the times of my deepest need these past weeks God’s power has been made all the more evident. What a humbling gift!