The Concordia Story: A Fifty-Year History of Concordia Lutheran Church 1951-2001

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Far left: Concordians Mike Manupelli,
left, and Joe Wesch, right, were part of
the 22-member mission team which
went to Nicaragua in 2001. Here
they enjoy the company of two young
Nicaraguans in the village of
Buenavista - El Congo.
responsibility for the entire operation of the
church. Yet that is exactly what happened in
April 2001. Thompson shocked the congregation,
announcing his resignation as senior pastor
and from the clergy roster of the Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod.
The unexpected announcement resulted from
a variety of personal stresses encountered by
Thompson. He explained his resignation in a letter
and in his farewell sermon on April 29, 2001.
His letter reads, in part: “Being Pastor at
Concordia is a wonderful blessing and also an
awesome responsibility. I must confess to you
that I am exhausted—physically, mentally and
spiritually. Marathon runners speak of ‘hitting
the wall’ when they can go no further in their
run. I feel that I have hit the wall…In consultation
with the lay leaders of the congregation I
am taking a period of time to rest and recover, a
time needed to regain my health.”
Thompson subsequently accepted an administrative
position with the Lutheran University
of Brazil.
Thompson’s rapid departure left the leadership
of Concordia in the able hands of Reagan. The
congregation president, Jeff Brown, and the
Church Council quickly assembled a call committee
for only the second time in Concordia’s history.
Appointed to that committee were: Brown,
Gary Juhl, John Kammrath, Rachel Limmer, Carol
Reineck, David Seale, Jim Smith, and Betty Turner.
Mike Manupelli was selected as chairman, and Ebs
was chosen to play the same role as spiritual adviser
that he had for the 1994 call committee.
As the deadline for this manuscript
approached, the committee was diligently working
toward making a recommendation to
Concordia voters to call a new senior pastor.
The congregation nominated 49 men to be considered
for the position. The committee expects
a call to be made in September 2001 for the man
to lead Concordia, by God’s grace, into its next
fifty years.
Concordia has always been a special place to its
members, to those who value Concordia’s contributions
to the San Antonio community and to
those who seek to enlarge the reach of the Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod and God’s kingdom.
The Texan newly-elected as president of
Synod, Dr. Jerry Kieschnick, has been in a
unique position as Texas District President to
observe the parish’s impact. His evaluation, perhaps,
says it best.
“When I think of Concordia, I picture a
group of Christian folks who have been seriously
engaged in the growth of God’s kingdom and
Christ’s church in the greater San Antonio community
for half a century. Uniquely blessed by
both pastoral and lay leaders throughout its history,
Concordia has contributed greatly to the
filling of the ‘halls of heaven’ by focusing efforts,
resources, and personnel on the great task of
bringing lost and searching people into contact
with our mighty God and His Son Jesus Christ
through the communication of His word and
the administration of His sacraments.
“Always a leader, Concordia has dared to
dream bold and courageous dreams and has been
blessed by God in being able to see those dreams
become reality. Who knows what the future holds
as Concordia stands on the threshold of the next
half a century of sharing God’s grace with those
who hunger and thirst for meaning, fulfillment,
forgiveness and eternal joy.”
Amen!
Left: Mike Anderson and Len Linkes
work on constructing the new school
building in Buenavista - El Congo
during Concordia’s mission trip.
Chapter V ✦ 73