Born in Pennsylvania, three-month-old Tim Vorlage moved to Japan while his father was stationed there in the US Air Force. He continuing globetrotting well into adulthood, though he never imagined calling the Dakotas his home. Although the mobility of a circuit rider was a natural fit, he didn’t see himself as a United Methodist pastor until late in his naval career. While discerning his call, a US Navy chaplain gave him a booklet about what Methodists believe.  Already a devout believer with a passion for ministry, Tim was all-in with a denomination he’d never been a part of.

Tim graduated from high school in Duarte, California, just east of Pasadena, where he could see the nearby mountains from his backyard, or even while watching the Rose Parade. He left California when he joined the navy, and his travelling intensified. He served in Florida, Illinois, California, Idaho, Connecticut, Pearl Harbor, and back in Connecticut.

Submarine illustration

In 1980, well into his naval career, Tim married Kathleen, and they moved to Bremerton, Washington. He served on submarines, including the nuclear-powered USS Queenfish, and the USS New York City. They eventually moved to Massachusetts, and after some more submerged ocean tours, he received shore duty as a nuclear repair officer in Groton, Connecticut.

Learning Methodism

Once Tim had shore duty, he picked up his faith journey again. As a youth in California, he had been part of a born-again movement, but chose to ignore any call to ministry during his first 15 years in the service. But God is never finished with us, and in 1990 Tim heard his calling and began to actively pursue it. He was introduced to some of the chaplains and especially resonated with the messages of John Wesley and social justice.

Tim became a United Methodist in the nearby congregation at Gales Ferry UMC, in Gales Ferry, Connecticut, and was soon leading Bible study and deepening his own faith.

Tim recalled, “Rev. Chuck McCracken was the first example of a United Methodist pastor I had,” Tim recalls fondly. “He was influential in my calling.”

“Methodism was interesting to me because of its wide understanding of faith,” Tim explained, “When the navy launched the first Ohio class submarine, carrying ballistic missiles, a United Methodist pastor gave the convocation at the ceremony. At the same time, in a rowboat in the middle of the river, was another United Methodist pastor protesting.” Tim thought to himself, “Yeah, I can see myself in that.”

Tim retired from the US Navy in 1995 and went straight to United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. His family moved with him from Connecticut to Ohio. He graduated from seminary there with his Master of Divinity degree and became a candidate in New England. He remembers, “When the Board of Ordained Ministry chose not to invite me, one of my instructors said, ‘You should consider the Dakotas. They’re always hiring.’”

Learning to love the Dakotas

Two UMC district superintendents, Rev. Penny Eberhart and Rev. Howard Grinager, were making a campus visit at United Seminary, and before long, Tim was appointed to the Britton UMC in Britton, South Dakota. It was there that he was mentored, with love, by his congregation and other pastors, and learned how to truly be a pastor.

Britton UMC in Britton, South Dakota

“I served there for about six years, and truly learned a whole lot about being a pastor,” Tim remembers well. “Things like, developing a taste for coffee, for whenever you visit. Visit as often as you can, and it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve heard that same story. It’s important to let them express it, because this is one of the high points of their lives, and that’s what you’re here for– to help; to listen.”

While he served in Britton, Tim was also a volunteer hospice chaplain, where “You learn a lot about family dynamics. It was a wonderful church charge for learning to be a pastor.”

During his time in Britton, Tim recalls some great mentors. The first one was Rev. Emil Eberhart, who was serving at “nearby” Aberdeen Faith UMC. “I was invited to their Tuesday morning clergy breakfasts. It was interesting to me to hear the discussion, and I discovered that the problems [in ministry] that I thought I was having all by myself were shared with other pastors having similar problems with their congregations.”

After serving Britton, Tim was appointed to a five-point charge in north-central North Dakota, serving Cando UMC, Starkweather UMC, Egeland Presbyterian, Rock Lake UMC, and Rolla UMC. While there, he learned how to close a church that had completed its life expectancy, and the emotions involved in that type of loss.

Tim also saw the far-flung fruits of ministry when closing the church at Egeland. For one last service, they invited past members to return, and one provided a surprise.

“One of the folks came back and said he was a missionary, working with missionaries and what led him to there was Sunday school and little Egeland, North Dakota. And how many different ministries have come from the smallest of churches. Yeah, they moved on and out of the community, but the faith that they learned will sustain them through the tough times. And they have shared the teachings of Sunday school from the matrons of the Church. Their faith is transferred to people all over the world, and that's exciting, I mean I’d never really sat and thought about that.’

Rev. Tim Vorlage

Of his time in Cando, Tim recalled, “I learned a lot from the other pastors in town. One of them was the Catholic priest, who, basically, taught me that once you're out of the church building, you’re not the pastor– you can relax a little bit. We had meetings we just talked about things and [the importance of] taking off “the collar.”

Tim also served in Langdon, North Dakota before moving to an appointment in Hitchcock and Broadland, in east-central South Dakota.

Ministry Insights

“Each appointment has a different with a different atmosphere, but the lessons have all been basically the same. Love the people you're appointed to serve. You may not like them all, but you’ll love them. You're don't have to have the answers. You just have to be there. That's the most important thing I’ve learned in ministry.”

As Tim gets ready for retirement, he has a few priorities he wants to devote a lot more attention to. “My first priority is to get healthy again, as least as healthy as I was when I came to the Conference 20 years ago.” once I get healthy, I wouldn’t mind being an interim pastor or something like that, although,” he shared with a chuckle, “my wife said she's never going to move again!”

Tim also mentioned an interest in continuing education, maybe even in early English poetry, which has always interested him, and traveling. He and Kathy have one adult son in Huron, and one in Langdon, North Dakota.

As one last ministry insight, Tim shared, “I think the best piece of advice that I was ever given, was, ‘Being in ministry is not a single appointment. No place is the same as the other, but the job is the same, to walk beside, and to guide.’ If you can do that, you’ll have a great career. You’ll share and see that come back in time, whether they are great times, or not-so-good times. God has given you that privilege and honor. Don’t take it for granted.”

Looking to the future, Tim said, “My hope and my prayer is that the denomination will remember, most of all, that we are given the biblical mandate to take care of the widows and orphans, and to love. Love all the people here, and serve all the people in our communities, and don’t worry about who’s sleeping with whom. If it’s as much of a sin as some people would believe, then God's going to judge it and we don't have to.”