Emmanuel Lutheran pastor offers curbside prayer, conversation in New Philadelphia

Pastor Robert Eller of the Emmanuel Lutheran Church has hit on the activity he’s been seeking to reach more people in the community. He has been making himself available to anyone in need of prayer or conversation by sitting outside the church on the curb on Wednesdays for two hours around lunchtime.

Eller made a sign that reads “Weary? Burdened? The Pastor is In.” He sets up at a table that includes the Bible and several books that include prayers for any occasion – even one for making coffee. A candle lights the table, and chairs are available for those who would like to sit.

Prior to beginning this activity in July, Eller had tried a couple different things to engage with the community outside of Sunday services.

“I tried this thing called free prayer, where I would go to like a restaurant or a cafe, get some lunch and kind of set up like this, but just in a restaurant. No one really came up to me,” Eller said. “Then I finally thought, why don't I take the healing service I was doing inside, make it more personal, one on one, and just take it outside my building.”

Eller experimented with the set up and after some trial and error ended up on the shady curb strip along East High Avenue in front of the church.

“I settled over here, and it's been successful ever since. I get a handful people every week that come by and talk and pray,” Eller said. “Most are not even affiliated with the congregation at all. They are just people passing by and they see my sign, and they want to come and talk. It's a great way to just engage with the community.”

Most people want to talk about what’s going on in their lives.

“Maybe there's an illness in their family, or maybe they've been diagnosed with something recently, or they want prayers for other things going on in their lives,” Eller said. “They want some extra prayer or just someone to talk with.”

Eller is ready for any situation.

“I am set up out here to do just about anything, pray, talk, give communion, do a rite of healing,” Eller said. “I keep a bottle of water handy if someone wants to be baptized. Basically, anything I can do inside the church building, I can do out here for the community.”

Even though the weather will become colder as winter nears, Eller plans to continue to offer his services to anyone who needs them.

“As long as I'm able to tolerate sitting out here, I'm going to be out here,” Eller said.

A couple of times, he has set up inside the church, but people don’t really find their way in.

Eller, who is originally from Erie, Pennsylvania, has been a pastor for four years, all of them at Emmanuel Lutheran.

A lifelong Lutheran and a former history teacher, Eller began feeling about 10 years ago that he needed to do more for the church. His pastor at the time suggested that Eller was being called to become a pastor.

“I tried to shrug it off for as long as I could,” Eller said adding that he thought teaching was his calling.

After much back and forth, Eller recalled a conversation where his father had asked him in high school if he had ever considered being a pastor. He realized the work of a pastor is teaching.

Eller wanted to serve in a rural area.

“Rural America is being ignored, and I want to help be part of that renewal in this area and really advocate for the people in rural America,” Eller said. “Small town America faces so many of the same problems as the big cities do, but it gets ignored.”

Emmanuel Lutheran does outreach to the community through an AA group, a free legal clinic one-time each month, and involvement with the food pantry. They regularly collect money for other local organizations and at their annual day of service they will collect food pantry items for the Friends of the Homeless shelter and will do a beautification project at the Tuscarawas County Public Library in New Philadelphia. They also host Vacation Bible School and Trunk or Treat each year.

The church, a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is located at 202 E. High Ave. in New Philadelphia. If you have something you’d like to talk or pray about look for Eller each Wednesday on the curb from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. He is ready to serve.