Steve Schulwitz

Immanuel Lutheran Church Pastor Jim Erickson always had a way of connecting with people and bringing them together.

He has celebrated the births and baptisms of countless babies, watched couples exchange wedding vows, and mourned with people who lost a loved one.

Erickson is retiring from the church and the news has taken me back to my childhood and the role he played in my life.

I often wonder if he realizes the impact he has had on so many, including myself and my family.

I met Pastor Jim when he was a vicar at the church and I was in grade school. His youthful exuberance, high-energy personality, and sense of humor connected well with the students at the parochial school that I attended.

Unfortunately, after about a year, Erickson moved on and he was replaced with another vicar. For us kids, and many adults, the departure of Erickson was a blow and was difficult to accept. His departure was felt by the entire congregation. It just wasn’t the same and there was a sense of emptiness when we went to church, Sunday School, or other youth events through the church.

Thankfully, Erickson was offered an associate pastor position under Dave Nickel. He accepted and returned to Alpena and the church.

He would eventually become the primary pastor after Nickel’s retirement and has been a mainstay in the region since.

I’m not sure the leadership of the church understood how impactful that decision was on us students at the school. It boosted morale among the student body more than anything else could have.

The thing about Pastor Jim is, even after you moved on to high school, began careers, and began your own family, he remained the same. Heck, he still looks like he hasn’t aged a bit.

I wanna know how much prayer that took?’

As I entered my teens and early 20s, I would bump into Pastor from time to time and no matter what type of trouble I was in, or chaos I was causing, he always took the time to ask me how I was doing, how my mom, dad, brother and sister were, and to offer me words of wisdom and advice that were definitely needed back then.

For as much of a problem child as I was, he didn’t judge me and only let me know he was there for me if I needed a friend to talk to and a shoulder to lean on.

I like to think that I have outgrown my wayward ways and become a better and more responsible person. I still bump into Pastor Jim and now his words are a bit different. They are of pride, not for himself, but for me and my accomplishments. He also continues to push me to be even better and closer to God.

I’m still working on those things.

I had the honor of interviewing Pastor Jim after he was awarded the Alpena Outstanding Citizen of the Year in 2018. I think I was more emotional than he was. It was an honor for me to report the good news to our community and it is again an honor to salute him today.

He may not know it, but he played a role in my journey from being a part-time sports stringer to sitting in this editor’s chair.

I’m sure it was via the prayers he said for me (I sure needed many of those) and his kindness toward me when many had sort of given up on me.

I am proud you were a part of my journey and I am so happy to have been a small part of yours, Pastor. I wish nothing but the best for you in retirement and look forward to those unexpected encounters when we bump into each other.

As a matter of fact, let’s not wait to meet up by chance. Let’s get together, chat, and reminisce. You might want to come up with some more words of encouragement for me because I still need them and likely always will.