By Jonathan R. Leonard

This is written on the occasion of Hennepin’s 150th anniversary. I remember well our circling the entire building holding hands with other members on the 100th anniversary.

I was a member of the Nebraska Conference and was finishing two years of clinical training in pastoral care and counseling. I also happened to know the Bishop of Minnesota who gave my name to Hennepin Methodist Church as it was known then. Chester Pennington, a Navy man who was the senior minister, gave me a call saying Hennepin was going to do a new thing in bringing aboard a younger minister of pastoral care rather than the typical retired man who usually would fill such a spot.

Carolyn and I were invited to come to Minneapolis for an interview. Both of us were interviewed by a separate five-person committee as well as by Dr. Pennington.  At dinner, we were interviewed by yet another committee. Chet, as we came to know him, asked us to come aboard. We were then surprised to learn we were to meet the pastor parish committee on Sunday morning. The committee turned out to be 25 members meeting in Dr. Pennington’s office. The main question asked was whether I was a Methodist.

The committee members mentioned they hoped we would plan to be there until our son, Steve, would finish high school. Having moved several times in nine years of training and serving parishes, that seemed like a wild fantasy. As it turned out, Steve completed high school, college, and was married at Hennepin. 

Over the years I led in developing several programs in religion and health, pastoral care and counseling. They were years of “outstanding highs” and “agonizing lows” in the lives of many Hennepin men and women. 

No expectations were put on the spouses of the pastors, but Carolyn enjoyed years of serving as chairman of the high school ministry (which included taking 19 young people to England for two weeks). She was also a founder of the Joy Circle. And president of the UMW with 16 circles and 400 members.

The friends we made. The relationships we had and the many experiences we had in those years are priceless!