Rev. Lawrence W. Wick (1940- ) oral history: Wilmette Public Library Local History Collection

Rev. Lawrence W. Wick (1940- ) oral history

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Track 1
 
LW: My name is Lawrence W. Wick. I'm the pastor at Wilmette Lutheran Church in Wilmette and have been the pastor here for three and a half plus years. To give you a little information about myself --- I'm thirty-eight years old. I have...this is the third parish that I have served with the Lutheran Church of America, having come here from the Flossmore area in the south suburban region of Cook County. 

RA: Was that your first? 

LW: That was my second parish. Prior to that I was in, uh, Grace Lutheran Church in Richmond, Illinois. 

RA: Oh, yes. 

LW: Ah, my, uh.. .You had mentioned prior to our taping as to why I am here. I suppose my track record in parishes has been going to congregations that are having difficulties and putting them back together. (Laughter) 

RA: This seems to be the forte of most ministers today, isn't it? 

LW: So it's been a very fun parish to be here. I'm married. My wife's name is Cheryl and we have two children. Anders who is four and Annika who is fourteen months. And we have our own home here in Wilmette and are both actively involved in the community. 

RA: This is interesting from a church point of view. Uh, are you now being compensated what was formerly. 

Cont. p.2 

LW: This is becoming increasingly popular, at least in the Lutheran Church where in our district of about nineteen churches, seventeen of those pastors own their own homes.... 

RA: This is very interesting. 

LW: … rather than the previous arrangement of having parsonages. Here in Wilmette, Nick May at St. John's owns his own home and Jim Kidd of the Congregational Church owns his own home and I believe Jim Pike of the Community Church owns his own home. 

RA: The Congregational idea is rather new. 

LW: Um, huh. 

RA: I happen to be of that group, so that I know. 

LW: Well, it's a much better arrangement for both church and..
 
RA: I think so. 

LW: Unmmunmm, educationally, I received a bachelor of arts degree in 1961 from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa - a Lutheran school in Waverly, Iowa. I majored in economics and international finance which are precisely those things which are not necessary for ministry, (Laughter) but it did give me a broad background. I had no intention of going to the seminary. In fact, after graduation from the baccalaureate degree, I went with Sears Roebuck and worked on the international scope
 
Cont. p.3 

with them. Then, uh, but shortly thereafter, I decided that was not for me. I went to the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and received a Bachelor's of -- what was called a Master of Divinity degree and I received that in 1966. Ah, I interned at Frederick Lutheran Church in the Virgin Islands, which was an interesting place to be. 

RA: How long were you there? 

LW: A year. We have one year internships. 

RA: I see. 

LW: I returned from the Virgin Islands and, uh, worked for a while as a chaplain at Elgin State Hospital while I received a certificate of certification as a ---- from the Institute of Pastoral Care. Then, upon ordination, I went to my first church which is in Richmond. I later then picked up a Master of Science degree in counseling from Purdue University and then in 1976, while here in Wilmette, I completed the requirements for the Doctor of Ministry degree from Chicago Theological Seminary. So at thirty-six years old I quit going to school for the first time. Haven't really had the desire to go back yet.... 

PA: You haven't? 

LW: .. .but will probably in the future. 

RA: I still.... 


Cont. p.4 

LW: Still have that feeling, right? 

RA: Yes. 

LW: Uh, as I mentioned I am active in the community in Wilmette. I'm a member of the Rotary Club, on the Board of Directors of that organization. I edit the club newsletter on a weekly basis and am, as you know and as you participate in that process, newly elected to the Board of Trustees of the Wilmette Library in which I have a great degree of interest. 

RA: I'm glad. 

LW: And, I, uh, really enjoy that. I'm also in the Wilmette Clergy Council, and, uh, work actively in that. 

RA: You have a fine background in counseling which I know is rather important today and really foremost today and I salute you for it. 

LW: Well, pastors do more and more of that. 

RA: I know they do. Hopefully, they're qualified to do it. 

LW: Yes, not all are, but, uh...,. 

RA: I belong to the North Shore Mental Health and so I have been interested for a good many years in what is being done within the ministry itself. Many ministers have served on that Board and are serving now on that Board.

Creators:

Wick, Lawrence W., 1940-, Interviewee

Adler, Rhea Saul

, Interviewer

Media Type:

Audio

Text

Item Type:

Audiocassettes

Description:

Interview of Rev. Lawrence Wick, pastor of Wilmette Lutheran Church, by Rhea Adler in Wilmette, Illinois, in April 1978. Describes the history of the church from a Swedish congregation.

ABSTRACT:

Pastor - Wilmette Lutheran Church - Third parish served — Family and community participation — Home—owner
Educational background — Sears Roebuck international scope Theological training at Lutheran School of Theology — Chicago -
Frederick Lutheran Church, Virgin Islands - Chaplain at
Elgin State Hospital - Institute of Pastoral Care -
Ordination — Richmond, Illinois pastor — Purdue University,
Master of Science degree in Counseling — Doctor of Ministry
degree, Chicago Theological Seminary
Community activities - Board of Rotary - Wilmette Library Board - Wilmette Clergy Council

Elaboration of the Wilmette English Lutheran Church — Back (south
end) of church first built - 1929 built sanctuary for
$60,000 - Crash - Couldn’t make payments — Moved out -
Worshipped in Masonic Temple. Church building sold to
Board of American Missions of old United Lutheran Church Eighth pastor — Congregation strongest it’s been - Debt free
Endorsement fund — Large contribution to Wilmette community — Three charter members in present congregation

Controversy among Lutheran churches — Mergers — A.E.L.C. — Danish — Finnish — Lutheran Church of America solidified -
Dr. Robert Marshall of Kenilworth - Member of Wilmette
Church made president
Local congregation strong in worship and music — Organ — Overhauling by Curt Roderer of Evanston
Church staff

Illinois Synod of Lutheran Church of America — 800 acre camp near Oregon, Illinois
Changes in congregation — Youth activities — Church extension — Benevolence
Church related colleges
World missions — Peace corps — Third World attitudes-changes

First church in Wilmette - Community Church - Included various denominations

Place of Publication:

Wilmette, Illinois

Date of Original:

April 1978

Date Of Event:

1929

Subject(s):

Lutheran churches
Oral histories
Wilmette Lutheran Church

Local identifier:

R 977.32 WI

Language of Item:

English

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