Stump the pastor

            I had an experience on Monday that was as enjoyable as I’d anticipated. Being the “buddy pastor” for the 5th graders and Kindergarteners at Concordia Lutheran School, I was asked to come in to answer some of the 5th graders’ un-answered questions. These questions had accumulated during the first two quarters of school. They had a special form for these questions, and they’d stored the completed forms in a cardboard box. 

            Where I’ve served before as a pastor of a parish with a school I usually referred these sessions as “Stump the pastor” day. I’d found that the questions were almost without exception quite thoughtful, and Monday that was certainly the case.

            The questions ranged from those dealing with the creation of dinosaurs to why God ever created the devil, or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for that matter. They had questions about animals in heaven, and marriage there, too.

            Mr. Hipple has been doing a good job with these boys and girls. They were well versed in Dr. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, especially the meaning of the first article of the Apostles’ Creed. 

            It will be fun to see what questions get asked in the second half of the school year!