To the members and friends of the North/West Lower Michigan Synod:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Bishop Satterlee has kept me aware of all your prayers and concerns as I was hospitalized in February and continue my recuperation at home. I am deeply grateful.

In early February, I developed severe infections that affected my kidneys and intestinal system, which may have been related to the COVID-19 virus. Treatment for these infections required a six day stay in the hospital. I was then sent home with continuing antibiotics for further recuperation. 

After consultation with my primary care physician, my gastro-intestinal physician, and Bishop Satterlee, recuperation from these infections needs to be my sole focus. I am currently on medical leave from the Synod and I have requested that my rostered status be changed to retired when the medical leave ends on April 30, 2023. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed these past five years of ministry as Assistant to Bishop Satterlee. My intent was to finish out Bishop Satterlee’s current term as bishop and then retire. However, my recent hospitalization and on-going healing process necessitates this earlier retirement.

I am so grateful for the working relationship that I have had with Bishop Satterlee and the rest of the Synod Staff, and the support of Vice President Sandy Schlesinger and the Synod Council. I also have been blessed in my ministry with all the churches and parishioners of the North/West Lower Michigan Synod. Thank you all!

Peace and Prayers,

Pastor Rosanne Anderson

“For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). The time has come for my friend Pastor Rosanne Anderson to retire and begin the next season of her life. The conversation that brought us to this moment was for Pastor Rosanne and for me “a time to weep and a time to laugh” (Ecclesiastes 3:4). I am sad to lose Pastor Rosanne as a colleague and partner in this ministry that she, Pastor David, and I share. I will miss Pastor Rosanne’s wisdom, counsel, and daily telephone call with which I begin my workday. I expect our friendship will transcend our working relationship and we will continue to laugh.

Ecclesiastes speaks of “a time to seek and a time to lose” (3:6). With every staff transition, especially this one, I spend time grieving the loss before seeking want and who will best serve our synod. I will not be able to spend this time until after our Synod Assembly. Perhaps it is providential that we anticipated Pastor Rosanne being on sabbatical this summer. In the interim, Pastor Christina Bright will serve as acting Director of Candidacy. Ms. Chelsey Satterlee will assist me with the paperwork associated with the call process. Pastor David and I will be less able to preach and preside, since there are only two of us, and we will need to anticipate emergencies. In keeping with the Synod’s policy, committees that depended upon Pastor Rosanne to schedule and host their Zoom meetings will need to make their own arrangements. Committees that identified Pastor Rosanne as their staff liaison should reach out to me with questions or if there is a reason for me to attend their meetings.

Bidding Pastor Rosanne farewell and Godspeed will certainly be “a time to mourn and a time to dance” (3:4). We mourn that she is leaving and dance as we recall what has been. I invited Pastor Rosanne to drop by Synod Assembly so that we can thank her. That will likely be a “game day decision” as it will depend on how she is feeling. If you send notes or cards to the Synod Office, Ms. Ann Stavros will forward them to Pastor Rosanne. 

Please pray for Pastor Rosanne and for all of us who are mostly weeping but also laughing, mourning, and not ready to dance. In this time of transition, please be patient with us who are taking up Pastor Rosanne’s portion of our common work. Please phone me when you need something or when I have forgotten something. Please forgive me when I get something wrong, respond out of exhaustion, or make a mistake.

I rejoice that my friend Pastor Rosanne heard and is heeding God’s call to enter the next season of her life. I pray she grows stronger with each day, spends plenty of time with those she loves, smiles as she recalls the good and faithful work she has done for Christ and the Church, and savors the abundant life we share in Jesus.

The Rev. Craig Alan Satterlee, Ph.D., Bishop