Pair to mark century of service to church
Between them, the Rev. Jim Neal and lay minister Robert Niggel have a century's worth of service to the church.
St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church, located at 201 W. Jefferson St., will have a celebration of thanksgiving to honor the duo at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 26.
Niggel is a longtime member of the church and has 50 years service as a lay minister. Neal, who served as St. Mark's interim pastor from March 2019 to September 2020, will mark the 50th year since his ordination.
Niggel, who farms near Chicora, has served as lay minister in 104 churches, said his wife, Vera.
“They call him and say, 'We need you,'” Vera said. “He's been to Presbyterian, Methodist, United Church of Christ churches and even served at the chapel in West Point.”
Robert Niggel said his lay ministry began in September 1971, when two men selling insurance stopped by his farm.Niggel began talking more religion than insurance with one of the men, who told him there was a program for training lay assistants.“The Rev. Sam Shaulis was at the training session, and was kind of my mentor, and I pursued the program,” he said. “And here we are, 50 years later with a lot of adventure in between.”He remembered one time when he was filling in at the home church for the president of the synod.“A lady stood up and started giving testimony, which was unusual for the Lutheran church” in the middle of the service, he said. “She apologized to me afterward. I said I wished the Holy Spirit would get more of these people onto their feet.”Niggel can fill in for an ordained minister in all duties except marriage or baptism.He goes where he is needed, but he's been filling in two or three Sundays a month at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Ellwood City.“It used to be the synod did the assigning,” he said. “Now, the congregations call me and ask, 'What dates do you have available?'“It's just like the old circuit riders. A lot of churches need service. There's a shortage of clergy today. We encourage lay people to go into it,” Niggel said.
Neal said he retired in 2011 after 40 years, but “we're not allowed to retire.”He's always called on to fill an empty pulpit on many Sundays.Neal, who served as pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeport for 14 years, said being a replacement pastor is in many ways preferable to being a permanent pastor.“I don't have to make these institutional decisions and deal with congregational problems,” Neal said.Both Neal and Niggel said the congregations have altered during their time of service.Niggel said, “The issues are changing today. They don't emphasize morality or spirituality. Everything is free thinking.”Neal said the COVID-19 pandemic has done damage to the church.With everyone watching the services remotely on TV, Neal said, “People forget about the fellowship of believers. It's a community. It's not just an individual, it's a community.”But neither Neal or Niggel said they will be giving up their duties any time soon.“There's a joy in it,” Neal said. “I wouldn't do it, and I know Bob wouldn't do it, if there wasn't joy in it.”
