The Rev. Don Stults poses for a photo at the pulpit of Zion Lutheran Church in Snohomish on Friday, June 25, fresh from relocating from Colorado.
Rick Sinnett
SNOHOMISH — After two years of temporary pastors, Zion Lutheran Church of Snohomish welcomed the Rev. Don Stults to lead their congregation.
Stults was installed as pastor on Saturday, June 26.
Answering the call
When he was a young student at Zion Lutheran Christian School in Corvallis, Oregon, Stults’ school principal predicted he would be a minster. His principle’s prediction was right. After studying electrical engineering, Stults transferred to Concordia Seminary in St. Louis where he would graduate in 1996.
Upon graduation, he received a role as an associate pastor and eventually moved to Monte Vista, Colorado where he would lead the congregation as pastor.
Taking Snohomish’s call, his family packed up from Colorado and drove to Snohomish, arriving in town just last week.
The Ministry goes on
Since their previous pastor moved in January 2019, Zion Lutheran has been relying on temporary pastors to lead the congregation while they reviewed candidates. Frequently, the honor would come to Gary Gable, retired school and parish administrator. “I may be retired from the profession, but the ministry goes on,” Gable said.
When asked why it took two years to get a new pastor, Gable explained that there were candidates that didn’t quite fit their ministry style or needs, and a few were scared away by Snohomish housing prices. However, through the trial process and even through the pandemic, there was one name consistently re-appearing on Zion’s Call list: Rev. Don Stults.
When asked about his plans for Snohomish, Stults said he feels that too many political hand grenades have been thrown around lately, and that the people need to get back to what makes a community; trust, acceptance, understanding and faith.
The shoes of a pastor can be difficult to fill, one can think of them as the band leader of an orchestra. Not only do they need to know the material, but they need to be in harmony with the musicians on and off the stage, or in this case, the pulpit. Zion Lutheran feels that Stults has that harmony.
