In memoriam - Rev. Timothy Maland

UPDATE: Visit Tim's CaringBridge page for more information and to leave his family your prayers and remembrances.

I got news this afternoon that Tim Maland, one of the two pastors who served Faith Lutheran throughout my growing up years, passed away a few hours ago. He was recovering from a heart transplant surgery earlier this week, and died of complications subsequent to the procedure.

Despite his frequent misguided attempts to convince me St. Olaf College was the right place for me (sorry, Tim... Concordia got to me first), Tim was a good pastor, mentor, and friend to me. His one-of-a-kind Norwegian/Portugese accent was unmistakable on the phone, as was his enthusiasm for serving God, which came through just as clearly.

Not only did Tim survive my class in confirmation (no small accomplishment), but he continued to show an honest interest in my academic and, ultimately, pastoral vocations long after we both had left Hutchinson behind. He seemed particularly pleased the Halloween I shaved my head into a tonsure and dressed as a monk - he concluded I looked the part of old Martin Luther himself, and how appropriate! Of course, it was under Tim's tutelage that I got some of my first tastes of Luther's approach to scripture and theology - a debt I hope to repay in my own confirmation ministry.

A lead foot? Yes, he had one A goofy sense of humor? That, too. A bad ticker? Alas, neither the heart he was born with nor the one that was so generously given him in his last days could keep up with Tim. The ancient Greeks, as Tim could have told you, didn't locate the seat of emotions and compassion in the heart, as we do.. It was all about the bowels - the guts - for them. Wherever it may be found, Tim did not lack for "heart," even as his body was forced to struggle mightily to compensate for an overburdened, under-performing pump.

To the Malands - you remain in my prayers, as you've been throughout the ups and downs of this process. Tim was not only greatly blessed, as you've described so many times in your journal; he was also a great blessing to a great many people. His joy now and our grieving are one and the same - that Tim is at rest, away from the suffering of this life, received eternally into the arms of the God whose servant and child he has been during his brief pilgrimage with us on earth. May you be comforted by the prayers and remembrances of your friends... But much, much more by the faithfulness of God, who has never let Tim go, even for a moment.