A beloved pastor in Minnesota recently died during a freak ice skating accident when he fell through the ice after a church service. According to reports, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office found the body of 78-year-old Greg Garmer, a retired pastor and member of the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.
The tragic death of Garmer sparked a wide range of reactions from friends and family. “He was a beloved member of the church and wider community; dedicated to the care and service of all. He was an avid outdoors person, the first and last of the season to be out cross-country skiing. He will be deeply missed,” members with the First Lutheran Church said.
“The Church is stunned, as you can imagine, devastated [and] heartbroken, but also filled with gratitude for his witness, for his ministry, his friendship, his collegiality and his faith,” the Rev. David Carlson, pastor at Gloria Dei, told local outlet WDIO earlier this week.
The reverend added, “I think Greg really lived life to the fullest. Greg really gifted us [and] helped us think about important matters, and he was involved in different book discussion groups and different outreach ministries. He was always there when there was some kind of ministry of accompanying people who were on the margins, whether it was our neighborhood breakfast or whether it was speaking for Lutheran Social Service or Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light.”
Furthermore, Garmer was described as an inspirational leader leading those around him to faith. “Whether he was discussing racial justice or religion and science or was helping us to think through installing solar panels, he was excited about the ways that we could live more fully into our calling as people of faith,” Carlson said.
Kathryn Tiede, associate vice president of philanthropy at Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota, was an associate of Garmer’s who described him as the “most congenial, most sincere, most generous people I have ever met.” She added, “You couldn’t slow him down. He was always doing something. In fact, just last night a friend of mine texted me that, she’s maybe 35, and she was out last winter cross country skiing, and he passed her on the tracks.”
The Christian Post reported on a message that Garmer had just recorded reading scriptures to his congregation on the first Sunday of Advent.“How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith,” he told the congregation.
Garmer continued, “Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”