New pastor has rural roots

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Bucyrus will celebrate the installation of their new pastor, Rev. Michael R. Greenler on Oct. 11. He was the third of five children, raised on a farm near Ayersville outside Defiance. His parents, Lawrence and Irene, married during The Great Depression and they honeymooned in Florida traveling 700 miles in one day on motorcycle.

Michael was taught the ethics of hard work on their farm by his father, and the demands of that lifestyle. He will always have a “soft spot in his heart” for agriculture. His boyhood home was the site of the origins of St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church, chartered 101 years before his birth.

He served in the Army Intelligence Special Forces Unit from 1972 to 1975. The A Team is made up of 12 men (just like the apostles) a special warfare group. Their motto is “De oppresso liber — to free from oppression.” God used that time of his life teaching him to relate to people from all walks of life. He went back to civilian life using his skills from the farm repairing heavy machinery, excavating and heavy equipment and foundry work. Michael was also a firefighter with the US Forest Service in the Coronado National Forest.

Michael felt, as a boy, that God was calling him to service as a pastor. He entered University of Arizona majoring in religious studies receiving his BA, graduating in May 1998. During his studies, he worked in the federal prison system. There were multiple divisions, segregated and locked down, the farm where inmates could work outside. The “bad boys” were in single cells with food (and communion) pushed through the door slot.

Many of the inmates had just “lost their way” in life. Michael was required to wear his “collar” so they might want to intimidate him, but he thought “no way.” One of the guys said “not only do you wear the cloth, you walk the walk — and “he was the leader inside the prison.”

If anything goes down here” stay still, we’ve got you covered; this man was an authentic, died-in-the-wool Christian.” Pastor Mike said. “Don’t give up on people, never give up, never give in.” Jailhouse Christians go to chapel and Bible study on their off-time.

While at the prison, on the women’s side, he could go anywhere inside, including the part where office furniture was made. The lady was sewing fabric on the arms of the chair, and she suddenly stopped working. He explained, “I want to see what you are doing.” Then, he found out why she stopped working, a chaplain only comes when someone passes away in their family. Pastor Mike chose the federal prison thinking if he could abide by their guidelines, anywhere else would be easy.

His master’s of sacred theology was received from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Calif., in 2002. Berkeley, nicknamed “Bezerkley” was a culture shock! From Defiance to a place where police give you a ticket because you are good driver but post 911 firefighters can’t have flags on their trucks “it could create a riot!” Next, he was ordained in 2002 at Emanuel Lutheran Church Stuttgart, Arkansas.

He found out it was OK to say anything about them, as long as you add, “God Bless ’em.” The family hosted Andrey Yurtaev, from Moscow, in the summer of 2004. When he returned to Moscow, Andrey became the first Lutheran pastor ordained in Russia since the purge of Stalin.

The family moved back to California in 2006 and Pastor Michael began his pastorate at Christ Lutheran Church in Chino. His resume covers a page full of projects including the Epiphany Program for young men 18–25 in the Youth Correctional Facility in Chino as a spiritual director.

With a cross country move, Pastor Greenler takes up a new pastorate in Bucyrus. His library contains the complete works of Martin Luther, the second most written person, Jesus being first. He would find out later, in his mission as a pastor, no matter the location, he is still on an A Team. His motto “to know Christ – to make him known - if you know him he will set you free.” He brings an incredible sense of humor about life and how to count on God. When asked “how are you doing?” he remarks “Better than I deserve.”

If you are interested in genealogy or sharing a story email or write Crawford County Genealogy Society, 931 Marion Road, Bucyrus, OH 44820 Mary Fox email littlefoxfactory@columbus.rr.com.