Pastor Jerry Wittmus is pictured at Zion Lutheran Church of Allenville in Moran. He also is the pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church in Cedarville. After more than 11 years of teaching vocational agriculture and horticulture, Jerry Wittmus, who also was a high school coach and referee, was called to the ministry.

He was called, he said, through a feeling.

"You have this feeling," he said, "you can't shake it and it gets stronger."

He now holds a Master of Divinity degree earned in 2007 from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

In February, he stepped into his first pastoral role, leading at the Zion Lutheran Church of Allenville in Moran and Bethel Lutheran Church in Cedarville. He replaced Pastor David Letscher, who was called to build a new church near his hometown in Pennsylvania.

"We did not hesitate," he said when the two churches called asking him to serve. "I had 30 days to decide and we did it right away."

Congregation members were warm and caring when he and his family had visited the churches and interviewed in December, he said, and the family was excited to return to the area.

Now he and his family have moved from Iowa to the Upper Peninsula, a place they had never been until he considered the job.

The family is living in Cedarville, including his wife, Nancy, and daughter Hope, 15, a sophomore at Les Cheneaux Community Schools. Their daughter Faith, 17, is finishing her senior year at Algona High School in Iowa.

"We were outrunning a major winter storm coming here," he recalled. "When we got here, we were accused of bringing all the snow. After we came, it just got worse, the winter did."

Traveling between the two churches during his first two Sundays of preaching took place on roads that were solid ice.

Still new to the area and the congregations, he is observing, listening to parishioners, and taking notes.

"I've tweaked some things in the worship services," he said, "but that's about all, so far."

His journey to becoming ordained was a challenge.

"Seminary is not easy," he said. "For me, I hadn't been back to school or college for 30 years. It was relearning study habits, writing papers, going from living in a home to a three-room apartment."

Since beginning his work here, Pastor Wittmus has been busy writing and delivering sermons, and learning the names of approximately 90 members of the Cedarville congregation and 70 members of the Moran church. He also is meeting summer residents and welcoming guests each Sunday.

As he gets to know the membership, he is gradually including a more comprehensive faith program. He has added a period of silence before each service to allow members to prepare their hearts and minds for the service.

New inserts have been added to the Sunday bulletin, called Take Faith Home. The pages offer Bible passages, quotes, and things people can do through the week. Using their Bibles, individuals and families can use the daily readings to serve as a guide to supplement the weekly worship service.

"I'm an information person," he said. "I like to give people as much information as they can handle."

Plans are underway at both churches to produce a directory. The last time the two churches produced a joint directory was in 1992. The Cedarville congregation published one during its 100th anniversary in 2002.

A new welcoming packet, he said, is also being developed in Moran to let visitors know it is a caring and open church.

"All people are welcome at both churches," he said.

Services are held each Sunday, at 9 a.m. in Moran and at 11 a.m. in Cedarville.