United Methodist Welcomes New Pastor
By Logan Bernstein
Westlake has been at the church for two months already, but
says that it’ll take about six months to get completely
settled in. His wife is also a pastor at the United
Methodist Church in Dodge Center, which, according to
Westlake, “makes Sundays interesting”. The couple also has 3
children.
Westlake says that his journey to becoming a pastor was a
long one. In addition to his Masters in Divinity, he also
has a BA in History and served in the military during the
Gulf War.
“I felt a call to the ministry since junior high, or early
high school, but it’s been a journey,” Westlake said. “I’ve
tried to do a lot of things. I thought I would be a history
major, and a full-time army officer, an accountant, but none
of that panned out or I found out I didn’t like it. I
finally made a decision to follow God and do whatever he
told me to do. Things have fallen into place since then.”
Westlake says that he has enjoyed his time in West Concord
so far. He says that everyone has been very welcoming and
that’s one of his favorite parts of being in the ministry –
connecting with people. He also likes to share his
knowledge, whether it’s preaching or in small groups or
individually. A self-described introvert, Westlake says that
his biggest challenge on a personal level is making sure
that he is outgoing and forthcoming with people and also
remembering not to get so absorbed in the church that he
forgets to take time for himself and his family.
Westlake feels that a challenge facing the church is “how do
we tell our story in a multi-faith culture? How do we show
what makes us unique and show our relevance? In many ways
we’re like the Roman Empire, we’re very diverse.”
Westlake has enjoyed his time in West Concord so far, and
hopes that he can continue to have good experiences in the
community for a long time to come. One challenge facing him
is the sports team he follows. “I’m not a Vikings fan,” He
commented, laughing. “I’m a Buccaneer fan, so there’s that
hurdle to overcome.”