Rev. William Blankenship, former lay deacon in Northeast Missouri, received ordination at 78 years young.
Pictured Front row L to R: Pastors Ken Schamber, President Lee Hagan, Bill Blankenship, Scott Salo, and Jacob Hercamp.
Back row L to R: Pastors Wes Gehrke, Jeffrey Dock, Eric Carlson, and Mark Appold.
Back row L to R: Pastors Wes Gehrke, Jeffrey Dock, Eric Carlson, and Mark Appold.
Rev. Blankenship was ordained February 28, 2021 at Immanuel in West Ely after having served for almost 20 years as a licensed lay deacon. Rev. Blankenship came to Lutheranism as an adult confirmand and has been an active leader in the church since with a special emphasis on prison ministry and working with youth. Rev. Blankenship led many Teens Encounter Christ and Residents Encounter Christ three day weekend retreats. He counts there have been about 200 three day weekend retreats over the course of his volunteer ministry.
Professionally, Rev. Blankenship has a background in engineering, production, safety, management, maintenance, and in developing and delivering Adult Education programs. He holds a B.S. in Accounting and Business Admin from Hannibal-LaGrange College and a MBA from Quincy University. He is also currently an Adjunct Faculty member at Hannibal-LaGrange College in Hannibal, Missouri.
Rev. Blankenship had served as a licensed lay deacon from 2003. Licensed lay deacons began in 1989 after a LCMS convention adopted a resolution to temporarily serve Word and Sacrament ministries in exceptional circumstances or emergencies when a pastor was unavailable. However, a new resolution was presented at the 2016 LCMS convention, which prompted about 250 licensed lay deacons who had been regularly preaching and administering sacraments to take steps to become ordained ministers. Then, licensed lay deacon Blankenship was one of the 250 affected.
After much work, though, in February 2021 we are delighted to announce that Rev. William “Bill” Blankenship was ordained and installed at Immanuel in West Ely. This area of Missouri has been served by Blankenship for decades, but now those who he has helped can address him as “Pastor” and as members of his flock a few months before his 79th birthday. Many blessings on your continued ministry Rev. Blankenship!