Bio: Zimmerman, Dan – 25 Years
at Loyal Lutheran (2023)
Transcriber: Stan
Surnames: Zimmerman
----Source: TRG (Abbotsford, Clark Co., Wis.) 01 Feb 2023
If you ask Rev. Dan Zimmerman about his time at Trinity Lutheran Church in
Loyal, he’d be the first to tell you that it feels like it hasn’t been that
long. But for the past 25 years, Zimmerman has led the congregation of Trinity
Lutheran through its times of joy, as well as its tribulations, forming a
special bond with the community of Loyal.
While it is not entirely uncommon for pastors to stay at one parish for so long,
Zimmerman said it is more common for pastors to live more nomadically, moving
from one place to another about every 10 years. But at Trinity Lutheran, he and
his family found something special, and have been there ever since.
“You stop and think, ‘Well, OK, we’ve been here for 25 years, we’ve found
something we like here,’” he said. “It’s been a good place to raise our sons.
They have had opportunities here in a small school that they wouldn’t have had
otherwise.”
Before coming to Loyal, Zimmerman had served at Bethany Lutheran Church in
Wisconsin Rapids following his ordination in 1990. After spending his first
eight years there, he and his wife, Peggy, began looking for a new congregation
at a parish more suited to their circumstances and the direction they wanted to
go in life.
“There were a lot of things,” he said, reflecting on his family’s decision to
come to Loyal. “It was the kind of congregation I was looking for. I had been in
another, smaller church before I came here. I could have gone on to a larger
church where I would have been a part of a staff, but I wanted to be my own
individual. That made this (parish) attractive. They made us feel really
comfortable here. My wife was also a nurse at the hospital in Marshfield, so
settling here would have allowed her to keep her job. All these things just
checked out for us.”
Zimmerman was installed as pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church on Jan. 18, 1998.
Since then, he has worked with the congregation at the parish to spread the
message of God.
“In a lot of ways, the message is pretty simple,” he said. “God loves everybody.
We need to hear about it and that is the message we do together. I’m not the
only one who spreads the message, I do it publicly and the congregation does it
as a whole.”
As part of his role as pastor, Zimmerman said he has taken part in many
milestones in the lives of his congregation. From baptisms to marriages, he has
seen many joyous moments in his 25 years at Trinity Lutheran. It is those
relationships and connections between himself and the congregation, he said,
that makes his role all the more special.
“The thing that I enjoy the most is the relationships you form with the people,”
he said. “You get to know the people well, and it has been a joy and a privilege
for my wife and I. You are a part of the important events in their lives, when
their kids are born, grow up, are confirmed and married. I have had weddings
already for kids that I have baptized.”
But with every joyful moment, there comes times of sorrow. In his time as
pastor, Zimmerman has seen his fair share of those moments as well. And while
they may be some of the most difficult parts of life, he said there is a special
privilege to being a part of them.
“Then I am there in their tough times too,” he said. “To be a part of that is a
privilege in a lot of ways. There have been some tough times for the
congregation. We have experienced some big loss. We have been through all sorts
of things together.”
Reflecting on the past 25 years as a whole, Zimmerman said it has been a
wonderful experience. The connection he and his family have shared with the
parishioners at Trinity Lutheran has been something that has benefitted
everyone, as together they have grown up, faced life’s struggles and learned
from one another.
“The congregation has been very supportive of me and my family,” he said. “It
has become home for us and it fit us good. It is kind of amazing; when we first
came here, our youngest wasn’t even born yet and now he’s about to graduate from
college. The parishioners were able to see them all grow up and that was a real
blessing for everyone. I can’t say that in any point in my 25 years here that I
thought it was time to go. They have been a good fit for us; I feel like it
hasn’t been 25 years.”
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