Terri Maier Honored with 50 Year Celebration

The Emanuel Lutheran Church recently honored secretary, Terri Maier, with a celebration honoring her 50 years as Church Secretary. 

Maier started working at the church as a 17-year old Stuttgart High School senior.She had 2 bosses (pastors), technically many bosses when you consider Council officers and church members.  Fast forward 50 years, there have been many bosses (pastors), lots of letters, bulletins, newsletters typed, printed and folded, upgrades in equipment used (and learning how to use them), her job description has multiplied, even her job title has been upgraded! Needless to say, that young lady did not want to take a typing class in high school, never dreaming it would be something she is connected to every single day. 

Her duties included typing the weekly bulletin (on a stencil), daily correspondence and phone calls.  She also typed information from old church records to keep in the office, most of which were printed in German, which she cannot read, but she faced the challenge and the handwriting and finished the job (that list comes in quite handy when folks call with genealogy questions today).  She also typed many financial reports for Annual, Semi-Annual, Council meetings and other organizations in the congregation.  She was also the official minute keeper for the Ark-La-Tex Conference and Service Mission Task Force meetings, of which Saathoff was chairman.  She attended many out of town meetings and conferences with the committee members from Emanuel. 

Maier says, “The years have flown by in a blur - the job has seen many technical advances, the computer being the best (or worse depending on how you look at it), internet, email, FAX, answering machines, cell phones and many more.  Many dear people have relocated and moved away, married, divorced, had children and grands and gone on to their heavenly reward.  I have 11 grandchildren today - from a 21 year old to 4 year old identical twins - who would have thought it!”

Maier has worked with many pastors including Rev. Ray Saathoff (1976 - June 12, 1983),Rev. David Pretty (1976 - June 1978), Rev. Winston C. Hold (September 25, 1983 - August 23, 1987), Rev. Michael J. Borcherding (March 11, 1988 - December 31, 1996), Rev. Walter L. Schievelbein (August 25, 1997 - August 13, 2000), Rev. Harrison J. Kline (Interim Pastor 2002), Rev. Michael R. Greenler (August 2002 - May 28, 2006), first ordained minister of Emanuel, Rev. Dr. Richard Frederick (Interim Pastor 2006 - 2007), Rev. Glenn Larsen (August 19, 2007 - June 2, 2019), Rev. Mark Nabors (St. Alban’s Episcopal, September 2019) and more recently Oscar Green and Sonny Cox

The celebration brought out at least 25 people plus Maier’s family members who all enjoyed finger foods and cake. Sonny Cox presented her a plaque in appreciation of her 50 years of service to the church and its members.

“ These days see me participating in every aspect of church life and serving on every committee and board there is.  Just ask August (Hensiek), my nose got a little out of joint when someone asked me about this celebration and I could not give them much information because no one told me!” said Maier. (After all it was supposed to be a surprise).

The celebration was not a retirement celebration though, as Maier will go on working as the church secretary, it was a celebration of her 50-year commitment to the church.