On Sunday, December 1 Reverend Gene Raymer will reach a milestone, celebrating his first anniversary as pastor of the Little Chapel by the Lake, an assignment that came from a calling to rescue the area’s oldest Protestant church from the darkest hour in its 55-year history.
A practicing Baptist in his youth, Raymer decided to become a minister during his college years, going on to take up seminary studies. But on his first assignment to a church in North Carolina he discovered he didn’t fit in with the local stereotype of a pastor. He took up other employment, including a stint at Good Will. When a job opportunity to work with the mentally disabled fell through unexpectedly, he jumped into construction work – a field in which he excelled, allowing him to comfortably support his wife Serena and their two offspring.
In the ensuing years the family settled in Florida where Raymer enjoyed a successful career building high-rise structures. He retired in 2008, with plans to move to Mexico. But he and his spouse ended up moving back in North Carolina, remaining there for the next three years. It was during this period that they became active church-goers after a three-decade lapse. He was soon named to serve as a Presbyterian deacon.Once the couple finally put down roots in the Chapala area they started attending the Lakeside Presbyterian Church (LPC). Raymer never mentioned to fellow parishioners that he was an ordained minister. He frequently walked past the Little Chapel by the Lake and became increasingly intrigued after learning through the grapevine that internal problems had left interdenominational congregation without a pastor, throwing it into a deep slump.
After “a voice inside” told him he might be the man to turn things around, he approached LPC senior elder Harry Daltry to reveal that he had felt the calling. Before long, arrangements were made to put Raymer behind the pulpit.
“When I first arrived the few people remaining in the congregation were rather cold and prone to arguments,” he says. After he put some special emphasis on fellowship gatherings and the passing of peace during Sunday services – what he colloquially refers to as the “howdy and shake” – the atmosphere began to warm up.
“Attitudes have really shifted, we’re all family now,” he observes. “Four members left the area for good, but we’ve gained seven new ones. The congregation is up to 25 now, including one gentleman who has been coming here for 23 years. But we’d still like to get a few more people in the door.”
Feeling somewhat intimidated in assuming the role of the pastor’s wife, Serena says it isn’t as scary as it seemed at first. “It’s wonderful and fulfilling work,” she notes. She leads the ladies’ group that meets on the first Thursday of the month for lunch and conversation and helps organize monthly joint restaurant outings with the Christ Church Anglican Fellowship that also gathers under the roof of the Little Chapel.
She believes her husband’s natural humility and knack for delivering meaningful sermons punctuated with humor have been keys to breathing new spiritual life into a faltering congregation.
The Raymers extend an open invitation to everyone interested in joining next Sunday’s 11:15 a.m. celebration service and curious to learn more about the Little Chapel’s missionary work in the community.