Gloria Dei Lutheran Church Losing Its Pastor

cannot maintain a full-time pastor financially after this June. This means members of the church will have to continue the social ministry of the church without Pastor Romeo Dabee.

"The social ministry needs to continue here, for this is one of the church's mandates," Dabee, said. "I want to make a difference in one person's life. I want to plant the seeds; I don't necessarily need to see the fruit."

Dabee's last service will be on June 19.

In his three years at Gloria Dei in New Hyde Park, Dabee has visited several members of the congregation who could not regularly make it to church in places as far out as West Islip. Though the woman he visits there has dementia and often does not really know who he is, Dabee looks forward to this visit every few months as well as other similar ones.

"I don't know what will happen to people who are looking forward to a visit, but I hope they get a visit," he said.

The church will go into vacancy mode after Dabee leaves. This means that assistant ministers, such as Kurt Langjahr, and other nearby reverends will play a bigger role in the mass and parish.

In a letter in the church's Messenger, Dabee explained how the congregation needs to continue after his departure as follows:

"This is not a time to throw our hands in the air and give up -- harboring frustrations and disgust at what is happening [in] the world and our worshipping community. Instead, this is a time to be drawn closer to God as we journey to Calvary's Hill with Jesus -- now is the time for us to be in solidarity with the rest of the world as we ourselves suffer and grieve."

The inability to continue to pay a full-time pastor was not really caused by congregants giving less to the church; Dabee noted that donations have been relatively steady over the past few years. It was an increase in areas such as health benefits, a loss of some funding that used to come from the church's preschool and dipping into the church's endowment for the past two years that Dabee said caused this financial situation.

Since Dabee has announced his departure, members of the church have increased their donations with some people even giving a one-time donation of $5,000.

A parishioner and member of the call committee who helped to select Dabee three years ago, Richard Gildein described his departure as a time of sadness because of the loss of a spiritual leader.

While trying to select a new pastor, Gildein said he "knew right from the start that [Dabee] was the pastor for us."

Dabee's warm personality as well as suggestions about how to lead the church and help the youth in the parish made Gildein think after interviewing him, "I think we found him."

This is about the fourth time that the church is going into vacancy mode, Gildein said, adding that the church "will pull through, we survive and we go into the future."

"We'll do our best; that's all that we can do," he added.

There is a possibility that Gloria Dei would have to close or merge with another congregation, Gildein said, but he added that he wants "Gloria Dei's doors to remain open."

In Dabee's absence, the church will be doing more evangelical work to try to get more people to become part of the parish. Gildein said the draw for people should be that they will be welcomed like family.

Gloria Dei's 70th anniversary will be in July, 2012.

Recalling his time at Gloria Dei, Dabee noted, "I've had a good run and gained some valuable experience regarding ministry."

Dabee added that, "I will continue discerning what God is calling me to do next."