“Old preachers never die, they just go out to pastor.”
Please join me in giving thanks to God for Pastor Gary Mills’ faithful and dedicated ministry in our synod as he prepares to retire, leave our metropolis and relocate to Minnesota.
Pastor Mills arrived in Metro New York in 1989 to serve as a Pastor/Developer in the Bronx followed by the call to serve Christ Lutheran Church, Freeport as Pastor and Mission
Developer for the growing ministry of La Iglesia Luterana de Cristo. Pastor Mills served three bishops and 16 years on the synod staff, effecting an immense range of gifts and skills for public ministry that shaped synodical, churchwide and global ministries. We are deeply appreciative of his international work with our sister churches of the Lutheran World Federation and in the development of the relationships with our companion synods in Tanzania and Romania. Pastor Mills was drawn to return to parish ministry and most recently completed ministries as the Latino pastor for Advent, Manhattan and as pastor of the tri-lingual congregation of St. Jacobi, Brooklyn.
Gracious God, we thank you for the work, witness and partnership of Pastor Gary Mills, who enriched and advanced the mission of your church in this place. Bless and preserve him at this time of transition. As he has been a blessing to us, send him forth to be a blessing to others with a clear vision of that to which you are now calling him, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bishop Paul Egensteiner