Pastor Stout also serves St. Peter’s Lutheran in NYM

By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

For the past seventeen years Rev. Ryan D. G. Stout has served as a pastor to several congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Stout served his call at Bethlehem Lutheran in Fargo, N.D., before starting his current call at St. Peter’s Lutheran in New York Mills, of which he has been the shepherd of that congregation for the past 15 years.

Stout recently gained a new flock to watch over as he stepped into the role of pastor at Nidaros Lutheran near Clitherall and Vining.

“I think my first official day was August 1,” said Stout. “It’s a learning experience, my first new parish in 15 years. It’s nice though, I kind of look at it as having the best of both worlds. I get the freshness of a new call, while also the stability of an old call.”

Stout got his start with seminary training at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia which has since become the United Lutheran Seminary. His internship led him to Boston and has preached the Word of God in the midwestern states of North Dakota and Minnesota ever since.

“When I was growing up, I had a very positive experience of religion,” said Stout. “For me, church was always a place that focused on community and education, and it was a place where I always felt like I was accepted and I could ask my question. I know that a lot of people’s experience of religion isn’t that, but that was mine.”

However, Stout wasn’t always called towards the Office of the Ministry. He sought out science to begin with and was in the genetics fields for a time before realizing that the questions that really intrigued him were always addressed by theology. After his call to the ministry, Stout has enjoyed his time preaching to his congregations.

“I know a lot of pastors that tell me, ‘Sunday morning, I would do for free,’ and I understand that, I do,” chuckled Stout. “I enjoy preaching because it makes me dig deeper into my own faith. Worship has always been a very positive part of my life and of course afterwards there is the fellowship, the rejoicing, catching up with old friends. Sunday’s aren’t super long with an hour long service and fellowship afterward, but so much happens, and so much energy goes into it. Hopefully, we get enough energy out of it to help us go and lead a Christian life the rest of the week.

“If I won a million dollars, I would probably keep on doing the same thing I am doing, just with less worry,” he laughed.

Stout mentioned that the congregations of St. Peter’s and Nidaros are comparable, with similar congregation sizes, so the size of the church isn’t a large change for him. One change he mentioned was the lack of an office administrator at Nidaros, something that he said certainly doesn’t hold the congregation back one bit.

“Nidaros is a very active, close-knit congregation,” he said. “They take very good care of each other and of their facility—the church is 150 years old, it’s gorgeous, it’s beautiful. They’re really used to taking an active role in their community, there’s a whole lot that hums along on its own and the pastor can come in and do his job, but all the little things are taken care of.

“Nidaros has a history of time-sharing pastors,” he continued. “At one point, they were a part of a four-point congregation, so they are very comfortable with getting things done on their own. Which makes it kind of fun and a little easier to sort of click in. Here, (at St. Peter’s) we have an office, and we have a professional administrator and Nidaros doesn’t have either one of those things. People have learned to do it as a community. Every Sunday there’s people to do every job and that’s just kind of cool. They clearly care about their life together and their community.”

Stout looks forward to getting to know the congregation better throughout the next few months as he settles in to his position. He especially enjoys the stories people have to share about their own lives, as well as their involvement in the church.

“I’m certainly looking forward to getting to know the people better,” he said. “There’s some really cool personalities there and wonderful stories. They’ve got farmers, they’ve got teachers, they’ve got folks the used to work at the old Kirkbride Hospital in Fergus Falls. The roots there are really deep. The graveyard is so old that a lot of the tombstones are in Norwegian and people know that ‘that’s my great-great grandmother’ or what have you. They’re very proud of their history and they’re very happy to share it. It’s really cool getting to be a part of it.”

Having a wife of Norwegian heritage, Stout says that he had some idea of the culture and history going into the congregation, but enjoys hearing more about their stories and the history of the original Nidaros back in the old country.

“They also have really cool traditions,” said Stout. “Sort of specific to that congregation, for example, in October they have this fried chicken dinner, which is locally famous. All kinds of people look forward to it, they say it’s the best chicken in the area. You have to sign up to get a slot, it’s a big deal.

“In November, on All Saints Sunday, they have a service in the evening where people come out and put candles and lanterns out on the grave stones,” he continued. “ That got me excited because when I first came to Mills, one of the things I started was a graveyard Halloween service. I would call the cops up and be like, ‘if you hear about someone in a black robe with a torch in the graveyard, that’s us.’ When I came to Nidaros and found out they already have a candlelight graveyard All Saint’s tradition, I’m like ‘that’s great, because that’s the weirdest thing I do and you’re already doing it.’”

During the end of the year, between the onset of fall and through December, Stout said that this time is his favorite time of the year. He says that celebrating each holiday in church makes the occasions extra special for him each year.

“I love all the holidays,” he said. “My mom always made a big deal about the holidays and my church did growing up. It’s fun to be a part of the community that not only enjoys the holidays, but brings them. Halloween, I always tell people, Halloween is a Christian holiday. It doesn’t often have that reputation, but it certainly is with All Saints and All Souls and then we get into Advent and Christmas and all that good stuff that makes the winter warm and bright.

“I do love the festive time of the year, especially now, our kids—especially our youngest—is still young enough to enjoy the childhood aspect of everything. She still want’s to go trick-or-treating with me. I know that will end in a few years, but I’m gonna enjoy it while it lasts.”

Between serving the St. Peter’s and Nidaros congregations, Stout has the opportunity to share holiday cheer between two communities this year, sharing the Gospel and uniting the parishes he shepherds. This aspect of church life holds a special place in Stout’s heart each year.

“Everybody loves the holidays,” smiled Stout. “But I think that celebrating the holidays in church gives it that deeper meaning.”