.capitol streets.
FAREWELL TO ‘PASTOR MIKE’
Lutheran Church of the Reformation Pastor Moves Onto Iowa
I
n 2013, Lutheran Church of the Reformation (212 East Capitol St. NE) Pastor Micheal Wilker was preparing for the memorial service for Arnold Keller Jr., his predecessor who served the church and community for 26 years. As he thought about Keller’s ministry, he pushed open the great big doors on the front of the church. The day’s sunlight struck him. Folks were biking past or pushing strollers; others were dressed in suits and were on their way to the Library of Congress or the Capitol. “They were just everyday workers and walkers,” Wilker recalled. “I suddenly realized that one way to think about Reformations’ ministry is that we open the doors of God’s love to the neighborhoods and to the nations. That is just a long-standing value of this congregation.” Wilker, known in the neighborhood as Pastor Mike, walked out those doors for the last time as pastor on Dec. 26, leaving the District Jan. 9 for a new post with First Lutheran Church in Deocorah, Iowa. In his ten years at Reformation, he has carried on the open door tradition. “He has really been a voice for social justice in the community,” said Del Voss, a member of the Reformation congregation since 1995, “and that’s very important for members of the congregation. He’s made sure every person is welcome to participate fully in the ministry and life of the church.”
Pastor Mike Walker and Rabbi Hannah Spiro at the Capitol Hill Community Menorah Lighting, Nov. 29, 2021.
28 H HILLRAG.COM
by Elizabeth O’Gorek “We love him very much, and we’re very sad to see him go,” said Del Voss, a member of the Reformation congregation since 1995. “He’s a very beloved minister.” Reformation has worked with other congregations for the past decade to shape the neighborhood, agitating for affordable housing as part of the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN); welcoming new residents as part of Good Neighbors Capitol Hill; and continuing a tradition of being a safe haven for Americans of all stripes and from all over the nation who come to the Capitol to exercise their democratic rights. In addition to all this, Wilker has presided over the church, located a block from the Capitol Building, during a tumultuous time. He’s offered the prayer to open sessions of Congress and been quoted on political events. But, he says, it is the lives he has been blessed to touch that he will really miss.
Called to Ministry Michael Wilker was born on a hog form in Northern Minnesota, graduating from St. Olaf ’s College before going on to volunteer with service organization Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC) in Chicago. It was when he moved to DC to take a leadership position with LVC in the 1980s that he met his now-wife, Judy. She helped him hear the call to pastoral leadership. In 1990 they moved to California, where Wilker attended Lutheran Theological Seminary while Judy completed a Master’s in teaching. From there, Wilker, who is also fluent in Spanish, moved on to a church in the South Bronx, then to a Latino congregation in Watsonville, CA before returning to New York. In 2005, Wilker and his family, now including two children, moved back to the District to take a position as Executive Director of LVC. “But I missed the parish ministry aspect of being with a congregation, a multi-generational group of people over the long course of their lives,” Wilker said. Luckily, Wilker was ready to return to congregational ministry at the same time as Reformation began searching for a Senior Pastor. It was, as he said, a perfect match.
Pastor Michael Wilker blesses newborn twins at a 2017 worship service. Courtesy: Lutheran Church of the Reformation
Histories of Service Reformation has a long history of service that predated Wilker, including providing a base for activism, such as the March on Washington for Jobs and Justice in 1963, the Tractorcade of the American Agriculture Movement in 1979, Dreamer civil disobedience in 2012, and the LGBTQ Marriage Equality Interfaith Service in 2015. “I hope I had some gifts and experiences,” Wilker said, “but I also believe that this congregation shaped me to be the pastor that I became and the leader that I became.” Like Wilker, Anne Ford is a leader of the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN). “Everyone knows Rev. Wilker, and he’s always got his hand out to help someone,” she said, “not just on the Hill, but throughout the District.” Ford is a member of Holy Comforter St. Cyprian Catholic Church (1357 E. Capitol St. SE), just down
