Called to Serve: Reflections and Memories of a Prairie Pastor

Author: Darryl Roste

Publisher: Marjorie Zelent, paperback, 260 pages, including Acknowledgments, Contents, Prologue, Introduction, 29 Chapters, For Further Reading, Unpublished Articles and Five Selective Books, plus Foreword, and Words from a Colleague

Reviewed by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

Brief Observations 

I was grateful to learn that retired colleague, an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Darryl Roste, had recently published this memoir, and was able to purchase a copy from him. 

In his Introduction, Darryl states whom he primarily wrote his memoir for—his children and grandchildren, and secondarily, his other Family members and friends.

Each of the 29 Chapters of this volume begins with a quotation from various authors and biblical passages. 

Darryl grew up on a farm near Preeceville and North Prairie, Saskatchewan. He is the eldest of six children. The house he and his family lived in, by today’s standards, would likely be regarded as substandard. In his younger years, there was no running water, no indoor bathroom, and no electricity. He and his other siblings learned the Protestant work ethic at a young age, and had to help out with farm chores, seeding and harvesting, and so on. Darryl can remember harvesting and haying before they had a combine or baler. In his early years, he can also remember walking to a nearby one-room school. 

The death of Darryl’s dad when he was only 16 years old made life very difficult for him and his family. From what he can remember, his dad never told him that he loved Darryl, so that left him wondering if he really had loved him. Family and community and church members helped out the Roste family as much as possible after the death of Darryl’s dad. 

Darryl goes on to share some of his educational history and experiences at Lutheran Collegiate Bible Institute, the University of Saskatchewan, and Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, and later furthering his learning with Clinical Pastoral Education, and Pastoral Counselling, and a Doctor of Ministry program with St. Stephen’s College in Edmonton, which he did not complete. He met Rita Salte at LCBI, and later they would become husband and wife. 

Prior to beginning his first call to serve Tilley and Rolling Hills congregations in Southern Alberta, Rita and Darryl enjoyed a holiday touring several European countries, and visiting with Rita’s relatives in Norway. Pastor Darryl, in his first call, shares some aspects of his ministry, including: the differences between the “Gloomy Danes” and the “Happy Danes,” being a resource pastor at Camp Kuriakos, teaching confirmation, providing pastoral care, and so on. 

As the memoir continues, Darryl shares, with honesty and integrity, a wide range of events and insights from his calls to serve other congregations as well as to teach at Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute. Among them were: the blessings of studying, teaching and preaching God’s Word, and administering the sacraments, officiating at funerals for those who died tragically and providing pastoral care and counselling for the families, confronting an antagonistic church secretary, learning that his son was gay and changing some of his former theological convictions, supervising interns, celebrating important rites of passage and milestones with family, friends, and parishioners, growing in God’s grace and realizing that meaningful ministry is rooted in one’s relationship with God, as well as loving, caring, healing, relationships with others.

In a couple of stories, Darryl describes what he calls “God moments,” (see pp. 221-224 and pp. 228-229) mysteries seemingly beyond rational explanations. 

One of the chapters I appreciated most—since, like Darryl and Rita, my wife and I are a clergy couple—was “Chapter 22 A Year of Interim Ministry in Viking.” Of special interest for me were pages 184-186, where Darryl speaks briefly about factors clergy couples face while in the process of seeking calls.

I think many, if not most or all pastors would discover several parallels in their parish ministries with those of Darryl’s. There is, of course, both regrets and much to be grateful for as a called and ordained pastor. Pastor Darryl puts it well when he says: “In the final analysis, the key to the value of my life is that my life and work has mattered to God and was not lived in vain. I often wished I could have drawn more people to a life with God within the church and to a vital relationship with God” (p. 255).