FOOTLOOSE AND…
Let’s all tip our fedoras to the Rev. Herbert Kern. This remarkable preacher is still going strong in Amityville, N.Y. — and he is 99 years old!
As assistant pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, a position he has handled since 1993, he preaches several times a year, makes innumerable hospital and home visits, and writes letters of condolence and congratulations to members of the congregation. By the way, Rev. Kern “retired” in 1983 after 32 years with the Calvary Lutheran Church, which he started in a storefront.
Among his multiple chores these days is making phone calls to church members every birthday and every anniversary, plus spending 20 minutes daily exercising and 90 minutes reading the Bible, two books each of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Then he spends odd time writing down things he is thankful for that day.
Rev. Kern stopped driving some three years ago. Now friends and family take care of his mobility. Also Meals on Wheels provides his food. The long distance walks he used to take special pride in are now gone.
Jessica Bernius, deputy mayor of Amityville and a church member, summed it up succinctly — Rev. Kern is what you call “a real minister.”
