Rev. Paul A. WEBER

WEBER, WOEBBEKING, BRENNEKE, LOWDEN

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 2/10/2024 at 13:07:01

Rev. Paul A. WEBER ---
Former president of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Church [LCMS] Ohio District from 1982 to 1988;
Ordained and installed at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, Eagle Grove, Iowa on November 9, 1952.

February 10, 1927 ---- May 27, 2018

Pastor Paul A. Weber, 91, of Napoleon passed on from this life and went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, May 27, 2018. He was born February 10, 1927 in Jonesville, Indiana, where his father taught in the parish school. Later the family moved to Woodburn, Indiana, where his father taught at Zion Lutheran School. Here Pastor Weber received his elementary education. He attended Concordia High School and Junior College, Fort Wayne, Indiana and graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri on June 6, 1952. Before graduation he vicared at Calvary Lutheran Church, Silver Spring, Maryland and there helped with the organization of the Lutheran Church of St. Andrew in Wheaton, Maryland.

After graduation Pastor Weber was called as Missionary-at-large in the Iowa District. He was ordained and installed at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, Eagle Grove, Iowa on November 9, 1952. On August 30, 1953, he was installed at Trinity Lutheran Church, Fort Dodge, Iowa (Deer Creek) where he was instrumental in building a new church. This church was dedicated May 18, 1955. In May, 1957, Pastor Weber accepted a call to St. Paul Lutheran Church in Woodland, Indiana (Mishawaka) where he served until he accepted a call to St. Peter Lutheran Church, Macomb, on August 2, 1959. He served here until December 31, 1961. On January 7, 1962 he was installed at Trinity Lutheran Church, Auburn, Indiana, where he served until he followed the divine call to St. Paul Lutheran Church in Napoleon, Ohio and was installed August 21, 1966.

In addition to serving the Lord in the parishes listed, Pastor Weber was active in other phases of Kingdom work. He served as Pastoral Advisor for the Walther League, Lutheran Laymen's League, and the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. In 1965 and 1966 he served on the staff of Lutheran Service Volunteer School at Camp Lutherland in Southern Indiana. He recorded devotions for the radio program Morning Meditations and also Worship for Shut-Ins which aired on television. He served as Counselor of Circuit Northwest II of the Ohio District as well as Third, Second, and First Vice President. In 1982 He was elected President of the Ohio District LCMS serving through 1988. He then continued to serve as interim pastor in many congregations throughout Northwest Ohio during pastoral vacancies.

On October 21, 1950, Pastor Weber married the former Berdina (Berdie) Woebbeking of Woodburn, Indiana who preceded him in death in 2008. They are the parents of four children, Stephen (deceased in infancy), Paulette of Burke, Virginia, Christie of Napoleon, and Luther (Becky) of Falls Church, Virginia. Also surviving are two grandchildren, Paul (Kelsie) Weber and Thomas Weber; brother, Robert (Thea) Weber; and sister-in-law, Mary Ann Weber, and special friends of the family, Janice Hoffer, Tom Shaw and Kathleen Smith. Pastor Weber was preceded in death by his parents, wife, son, sisters, Lorna Brenneke and Thelma Lowden, and brother, William Weber.

Funeral Services for Pastor Weber will be Monday, June 4, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Napoleon. Interment will follow with a graveside service at 3:00 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery in Woodburn, Indiana. The service will be live streamed at www.stpaulnapoleon.org. Visitation will be Sunday, June 3 from 1-7 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Napoleon and one hour prior to the funeral on Monday.

Memorial contributions are suggested to St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1075 Glenwood Ave., Napoleon, Ohio 43545, Lutheran Hour Ministries, 660 Mason Ridge Center, St. Louis, MO 63141, or Worship Anew (formerly Worship for Shut-ins) at Fort Wayne, IN.

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The Rev. Paul A. Weber, who served as president of the LCMS Ohio District from 1982 to 1988, died May 27 at his home in Napoleon, Ohio. He was 91.

His funeral service is set for 11 a.m. on Monday, June 4, at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1075 Glenwood Ave., Napoleon, OH 43545. Visitation is from 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday, June 3, at the church, and for an hour before the funeral.

A 1952 graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Weber served as a missionary at-large in the LCMS Iowa District and as pastor of congregations in Iowa, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio: Mount Calvary, Eagle Grove, Iowa; Trinity, Fort Dodge, Iowa; St. Paul, Woodland, Ind.; St. Peter, Macomb, Mich.; Trinity, Auburn, Ind.; and St. Paul, Napoleon.

He also served as a pastoral adviser for the Walther League, Lutheran Laymen’s League and Lutheran Women’s Missionary League; a staff member of the Lutheran Service Volunteer School at Camp Lutherland in southern Indiana; a circuit counselor; and district vice-president.

Weber also was involved in media ministries, recording devotions for the radio program “Morning Meditations” and videotaping “Worship for Shut-ins” for TV.

Ohio District President Rev. Terry Cripe invites all interested clergy to process, wearing their red stoles, at Weber’s funeral service.

“Together, we join in mourning the loss of a beloved friend and faithful worker in the kingdom, and we rejoice that Pastor Weber is celebrating the resurrection of life now,” Cripe said in a May 31 email to LCMS leaders.

In their eulogy, Weber’s three children said they “feel blessed to have been born into a family whose purpose was so focused on Christ, the Scriptures and the Church.”

Their father “gave his all to God and to the Church,” and since his death they discovered journal entries from a six-month period in 1979 that showed he made a whopping 755 calls on members in addition to his other pastoral responsibilities.

Weber, they said, loved baseball and “was quite the player in his day, having been scouted by the Yankees while playing for the seminary in St. Louis.” But he “declined the [Yankees] invitation” in favor of continuing his pastoral studies.

The children credit their father for their introduction to classical music, after-supper devotions, hikes in the woods and travel.

“He was truly a remarkable guy who loved life and loved us all, putting everyone at ease with his sharp wit and genuine smile,” wrote the Webers, adding, “Above all, he loved the Lord Jesus Christ with all his heart and dedicated his whole life to sharing that faith.”

Survivors include the children — Paulette Weber, of Burke, Va.; Christie Weber of Napoleon; and Luther (Becky) Weber of Falls Church, Va. — grandchildren Paul (Kelsie) Weber and Thomas Weber; and a brother, Robert (Thea) Weber. Weber was preceded in death by his wife, Berdina, who died in 2008, and a son, Stephen, who died in infancy.

Memorials may be made to St. Paul Lutheran Church, Napoleon; Lutheran Hour Ministries, St. Louis; and “Worship Anew” (formerly “Worship for Shut-ins”).

https://blogs.lcms.org/2018/obituary-rev-paul-weber-former-ohio-district-president/