ATTLEBORO, MA (December 27, 2007) – When Kent Palmquist retires from the local Evangelical Covenant Church at the end of this month, so also will end 113 consecutive years of pulpit ministry in the denomination by a member of his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a record, but it\u2019s a good run,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Five Palmquists across three generations have served in Covenant church pulpits. In 1894, Kent\u2019s paternal grandfather, A.E. Palmquist, began ministering to a congregation on the south side of Chicago. At the time, the Swedish immigrant was studying at the Chicago Theological Seminary.<\/p>\n
In succeeding years, Palmquist family members would carry on the work in Covenant churches across the country. Other ordained pastors have been Kent\u2019s uncle, Herbert E. Palmquist; his father, A. Eldon Palmquist; and a cousin, Roger W. Palmquist.<\/p>\n
A cousin\u2019s son, A. Eric Palmquist, is the sixth family member to be ordained in the Covenant. He currently serves as the director of admissions at North Park Theological Seminary. Kent graduated from the seminary in 1969 having graduated from North Park College in 1964.<\/p>\n
Kent isn\u2019t sure why so many members of his family became Covenant pastors, but with typical droll humor, he hypothesizes, \u201cIt was a genetic flaw that got carried down from one generation to another.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turning serious, he adds, \u201cI\u2019ve known people who have been raised in parsonages, and the last thing they want to do is go into parish ministry,\u201d Kent says. \u201cI\u2019ve never felt that way.\u201d Rather, ministry always had a powerful call on him.<\/p>\n
The family ties have made for interesting relationships. For a period of time, Kent served a church in the Central Conference while his father was the conference superintendent. \u201cThat kept me on the straight and narrow,\u201d Kent quips.<\/p>\n
Eldon Palmquist never pressured his son to pursue ministry or in how to serve as a pastor. \u201cHe was very hesitant to give advice and sensed that I needed to discern my way,\u201d Kent says.<\/p>\n
Speaking of his family, Kent adds that he has been able to serve 38 years in ministry because, \u201cI\u2019ve had some great mentors, some great models in my life.\u201d The churches also have blessed him, he adds. \u201cI have served congregation that have been a good fit. I\u2019ve had the opportunity to grow over the years. I\u2019ve never felt stifled.\u201d<\/p>\n
There has been other motivation for staying in the ministry. \u201cI\u2019m vested in the Covenant pension plan and didn\u2019t want to get out of it,\u201d jokes Kent, who also has served on the denomination\u2019s Board of Pensions and Benefits.<\/p>\n
The demands on pastors have continued to change over the decades, and Kent reflected on his experience in the church\u2019s annual report he completed last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cPastoral ministry is not easily understood in our day, even within the church,\u201d he writes. \u201cFor some it is understood as \u2018minding the store\u2019 (the administrator); for others \u2018meeting people\u2019s needs\u2019 (the chaplain); and for others \u2018envisioning institutional advancement\u2019 (the entrepreneur). Each misses the mark. I have come to see it as the task of speaking the mystery and love and majesty of God, and in doing so – to paraphrase Eugene Peterson – inviting others into God\u2019s life and purposes, which are never cramped or demeaning, but large and beautiful. The call has been one of definite challenge, but also of rare and rewarding privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n