By Lori Carlson

Editor

The senior pastor at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church has resigned after disclosing “an improper relationship” with a woman while serving at the church.

The Rev. Stephen Haschig resigned last month, according to a Sept. 18 letter to congregation members from Bishop Craig E. Johnson of the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The synod includes 167 churches in the Twin Cities area.

“Pastor Haschig has disclosed to me that he has recently engaged in an improper relationship with an adult female while serving at Shepherd of the Lake,” Johnson wrote in the letter. “It is important for you to know that we hold our pastors responsible for their professional behavior.”

Haschig, who is married, had been a pastor at the church since 1985. He became senior pastor in September 1997.

Haschig voluntarily submitted his resignation, said Danette Griffith, director of communications for the synod and a member of Shepherd of the Lake. As of this newspaper’s deadline, Haschig had not returned a call for comment.

The letter, Johnson wrote, was “sent in an attempt to make sure no other person has been affected by similar behavior.”

Griffith said the bishop would not confirm whether the woman was a member of the church nor whether Haschig had counseled her as pastor.

“The bishop can’t answer those questions because we’re trying to protect the anonymity of the victim,” she said.

When asked to clarify the term “victim,” Griffith said no crime was committed, but the church considers the woman a victim regardless of whether the relationship was consensual.

“She is a victim because he was outside the boundaries of his call,” Griffith said.

The ELCA requires pastors to sign a “visions and expectations” document, she said. If a pastor violates the rules outlined in the document, it may be cause for discipline “because of his position of power.”

In this case, Griffith said, the church considers Haschig’s resignation a form of discipline even though he resigned voluntarily.

“The ELCA doesn’t require him to do anything … but we are keeping the pastor under care. The synod will continue to work with him,” she said.

Johnson received Haschig’s resignation but had no authority to approve or reject it, because the church councils, not the synod, govern the congregation, said Griffith. The Shepherd of the Lake church council accepted Haschig’s resignation on Sept. 14.

 “I urge you as members of Shepherd of the Lake not to speculate on confidential details nor to start or pass on uninformed rumors,” Johnson wrote.

The Rev. Marggi Pleiss-Sippola, the church’s associate pastor, has taken over until a new pastor is called, said Cindy Loftus, director of business and administration for Shepherd of the Lake. The church council has approved a new pastor, who will start in early November, she said. Loftus said she couldn’t reveal the new pastor’s name because he had not yet informed his current congregation of his new position.

Representatives of the Minneapolis Area Synod met with congregation members Sept. 24. The bishop conducted an open meeting with church members Sept. 28 and plans to meet Oct. 4 with parents about how to talk to the congregation’s youth about the situation.

“Although no impropriety involved minors, the young people of the congregation will need special care,” Johnson wrote.

Shepherd of the Lake, established in 1965, currently has about 4,500 members.

Lori Carlson can be reached at (952) 345-6378 or editor@plamerican.com.