The Congregations of St. Mark, Great Bend and St. Paul, Galatia will hold a joint Holy Communion Service on Sunday, July 19, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Galatia.  A catered meal will follow the service at noon.  The congregations are celebrating Pastor Adam Wutka’s 10th anniversary of his ordination in the ELCA, as well as 10 years with this joint parish.
 
The Rev. Adam D. Wutka was raised up in the Lutheran faith, originally born in Vermont and spending most of his formative years in southern Florida before moving to Texas to attend college. He received his BBA with an emphasis in Human Resources and Organizational Behavior in 1999 from the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton, TX. During his time there, he served as the peer ministry assistant for the Lutheran Campus Ministry program, where he also met his wife Aimee. Adam stayed on at UNT for two more years, completing his MBA with an emphasis in Finance in 2001.
 
After graduate school, Adam began his seminary studies at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (LTSG). He served his third-year internship at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Blanco, Texas, before returning to Gettysburg for his final year of study. Adam completed his candidacy in the ELCA and graduated with his Masters of Divinity in May 2005. He interviewed with the joint call committee of St. Paul and St. Mark Lutheran Churches, and accepted their call to serve here.
 
Pastor Adam was ordained on June 25, 2005 at his home congregation, Resurrection Lutheran Church in Plano, Texas. He began serving at St. Mark and St. Paul in mid-July, the third pastor serving both congregations since 1996. His first Sunday officiating over the divine service of Word and Sacrament was on July 17, 2005.
 
In his decade here, Pastor Adam has officiated at 11 weddings and over 60 funerals both in his congregations and the community at large. In his congregations, he has baptized over 30 children and a few adults, and confirmed nearly as many youth and adults in the Lutheran faith. Pastor Adam currently serves as the board president of the Barton County Emergency Aid Association, and as the chairperson of the Resolutions Committee of the Central States Synod, ELCA. He and Aimee live in Great Bend with their three (soon to be four) sons.