Pastor for Hope Lutheran Church in West Seattle Keith Eilers is retiring from active ministry and a celebration of his ten years of service to the church and congregation was held Sun, June 12 at the Church and at Seattle Lutheran High School. More than 350 gathered to have lunch and pay tribute to a man that in his decade in the role oversaw many changes for the institution.

Pastor Eilers said that after his last sermon, he was emotionally drained. He spoke about "That the church is really the people. Like at the end of the letter to the Romans, Paul lists a whole bunch of people (…) and I chose that as my text because it's really about the people. It's applying a message to individual lives. That's what the last chapter of my ministry here at Hope is all about. I wanted to focus upon people. I called it Snapshots of Hope. I reminisced about a number of different things, when we remodled and some of the people that were here. I told them there's a story behind each name."

Eilers was born in southern Idaho and prior to his service here was at Christ the King in Bellevue. Then he came here. "In our denomination, congregations issue a call. They pray about it. They have a list of names and I had given permission to let my name be on the list. They chose. I had the option of accepting it, feeling that it was from the Lord or declining it. I felt it was from the Lord."

He's calling his next phase, "partial retirement. I'm 67 and the congregation has made a number of transitions. We went a couple of years without a principal in our school and the congregation is poised to move ahead in a new direction and we've got new Pastor coming, to be installed August 14 named Peter Meuller. He's coming from southern California. He's a younger man, 39 years old. That fits in with our demographic of families with school age children. For me, you know, it's time. I'm still going to be active in ministry doing interim ministry."

He will remain as a church member at least in part because, "my grand children are in the school here, my children are members of this congregation, my mother-in-law is a member so you know we'll be back."

He's proudest of overseeing the remodel of the church (in 2009) added an all day pre-school, improved the quality of education. The church added a large common area between the school and the church, and expanded the school, almost doubling it. "We got all those things in place and the facility that goes with it. It's time for Hope to have a Pastor that takes them beyond one or two years."

He said the greatest thing he's learned is "To trust the process. Sometimes people give feedback that be sort of biting. They don't mean disrespect. You have to trust the process and stay in there, working to help and care for people and as you do you gain credibility with people (...) people will eventually come to respect you and get going in the same direction."

At the lunch many people rose to speak about the Pastor and share their memories of his time there. Delores Kannas and others spoke about his remarkable ability to remember everyone's name. "He knew that remembering someone's name means something more than just having an exceptional memory. It means that you value that relationship."

Deacon Dan Jackson said, "He's been a blessing to us. We went quite a few years without a pastor before he came to us and we were struggling. He came and like a shepherd, which is what he is he took this flock of hope and guided us into a building program and he touched a lot of lives personally. He got us motivated to reach out to West Seattle for the future. He's a remarkable man."

"I think Hope really has come alive in the last ten years."

Church Elder Bill Clifton said, "I've never been touched as much as I have by this man. He is absolutely brilliant. He has this ability to touch everyone here (...) He gets down on his knees and talks to the children and knows all their names. He knows something about each person. His speaking ability and ability to deliver Christ's word to this diverse group."

Parish Administrator Julia Doerr said, "Pastor Eilers personally has meant to me a friend and person who will listen. A person who will pay special attention to my family and my kids. It's amazing the types of connections he's formed with every member of this church. We're really going to miss him."

Gerry Tornow said," He's probably the most kind understanding man that I've ever met and I've worked with him on a lot of committees. I've had a really pleasurable experience working with him."

Some of the children offered their observations about him too, writing down some brief impressions. Pastor is, "Kind, tall, nice, faithful, funny, energetic, loud singer, willing to get involved, a good speaker, speaks with emotion, he cares, he's a holy man."

Head Elder Larry Koltz said, "The thing I appreciate about Keith is his faithfulness and that he is willing to always be there and consistently work with the congregation and be by their side and participate in their activities. He shares the word of the Lord so his congegation can be prepared and willing to share their faith wherever they may be."

Deacon Jackson will be in charge of church affairs until the new Pastor arrives in mid August.