St. Peter Lutheran Church’s new pastor wears many costumes
Settling into a chair in his office at St. Peter Lutheran Church on Oxford Way in Lodi on Friday morning, Pastor Tim Blau adjusted the collar on the pilgrim costume that he wore to welcome students to the church’s school earlier that day.
“I was taught by a pastor in Phoenix (Ariz.) that half of the kids want to come to school, and the other half don’t, so my job is to encourage them to come to school,” Blau said.
Every ministry that Blau has been a part of in his 26 years as a pastor has had a school, he said, and every day he wears one of his 50 costumes when parents drop their children in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon.
“Just to bring some laughter and joy,” Blau said.
Blau brought the personal tradition with him when he came to Lodi from Prescott Valley, Ariz., earlier this week to be closer to his family in Bakersfield, Fresno and Portland, Ore., he said, and he
“For a church, the school is the mission field,” Blau said. “The church is here to serve the school, to partner up with teachers and to teach the children about the love of Jesus and to prepare them to be good citizens of our community.”
has already begun to fall in love with his new home.
“Everyone is really down to earth, and I’m looking forward to trying Lodi’s wineries,” Blau said.
Growing up in Arizona, Blau’s father and grandfather were both pastors, he said, and as a result he almost always lived near the church where his father preached.
“I swore I would never follow in their footsteps, but after college, I went right back to the church. That’s where I was always comfortable,” Blau said. “Being a third-generation pastor, it was just natural. I love the church.”
As he settles into his new role at St. Peter Lutheran, one of Blau’s goals is to bring the church and school together into one ministry to support one another, he said.
“For a church, the school is the mission field,” Blau said. “The church is here to serve the school, to partner up with teachers and to teach the children about the love of Jesus and to prepare them to be good citizens of our community.”
Blau has observed friction between other churches and schools over the course of his career, he said, which is something he hopes to avoid at St. Peter Lutheran.
“It’s not easy to be a teacher today, so I want to encourage the church members to love the teachers, to support them as teachers support the parents,” Blau said. “It’s not easy being a parent these days, either, so it’s important that the church, the school and the community come together to help raise our children.”