Grace and Mercy Lutheran Church is inviting the public to attend the ordination and installation of its new pastor, Weston Walker on Saturday, Oct. 12.
The ceremony gets under way at 10 a.m., with Bishop Laurie Larson Caesar of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s (ELCA) Oregon Synod will preside.
After Walker’s graduation in 1979 from high school in Kennewick, Wash., and completing college and seminary in Abilene, Texas, he taught at a Bible college and served as a pastor while also serving as a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserves. Entering active duty in 1993, he served as an USAF chaplain endorsed by the Churches of Christ until retiring from the military in 2018.
He has also completed the Doctor of Ministry degree and a one-year residency in clinical pastoral education. Serving in an ecumenical context for so many years, Walker found his home in Lutheran and Episcopal churches. Upon military retirement, he completed the requirements to be rostered with the ELCA.
Recently he served six months as interim pastor at Kennewick’s First Lutheran and has been supplying at Hermiston’s Grace and Mercy since April. He is married to Rostia, an R.N., enjoys adventures around the world with his adult children, sings, trains his dogs in agility, and lives with and cares for his parents.
The church is located on 191 E. Gladys Ave., in Hermiston.
