The Rev. Dr. Arvin R. Luchs Retires
Monday, June 27, 2011
The Rev. Dr. Arvin R. Luchs, senior minister of Portland's First United Methodist Church, retired today after ten years in that position and nearly 40 years of ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church, including in the UMC's national communications office. He assumed the pulpit at FUMC when I was serving as the congregation's director of community outreach. During a time of declining membership for mainline churches Dr. Luchs showed that churches that were welcoming and open to all could survive and even thrive. He quickly became more than my boss. Arvin became a friend and mentor and later a trusted colleague in ordained ministry. It was Arvin that I asked to give the "charge to ministry" during my ordination service at Portland's First Congregational United Church of Christ in 2006 (the below pictures of Dr. Luchs are from that service). His pastoral leadership stands as an example for others. First United Methodist Church will miss his leadership but the church will continue on in part because of his legacy. The church universal is fortunate that when God called Arvin Luchs to ministry he faithfully answered that call. No one was surprised to hear that his first act of "retirement" was to join the board of directors of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon.

The Rev. Dr. Arvin Luchs

The Rev. Chuck Currie, The Rev. Dr. Arvin Luchs, and The Rev. John Gantt
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