After 17 years behind the pulpit at the Hoodland Lutheran Church in
Brightwood, Pastor Berry Scruggs is stepping down.

The calling to the ministry carries many demands, and Scruggs described it as
“being more than full-time ... and there is no such thing as a day off.”

But he was quick to point out the delights of the way the congregation invited
him and his wife, Judy, into their lives.

“One privilege of being a pastor is you are involved with people, real stuff,
real emotions, great joy, weddings, births and also sadness at crisis times,”
Scruggs said. “And simply the joy of being able to baptize people – priceless.”

Joann Peterson, self-described secretary-treasurer-housekeeper-landscaper
for the church, recalled the pastor’s last service Oct. 21.

“The church was filled to the rafters,” she said. “There must have been 150
people here from all the churches. There was an enormous outpouring of love
and support for the pastor.”

Scruggs’ journey to the Mountain began when he was a Catholic, and his high-
school sweetheart wife, Judy, a Methodist at the time, decided they needed a
mutual faith for both of them. Subsequently, when Scruggs turned 40, they
checked out a Lutheran church, and the path to Hoodland was set in motion.

After a discussion with a Lutheran pastor in Brookings in 1986, he put his
accounting firm up for sale and pursued the ministry. He attended Pacific
Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Calif., followed by an internship in
Boardman, eastern Oregon.

The next stop was the Mountain where he learned what being a pastor was all
about.

“There is a lot of pressure to live up to expectations and your title, and you
give it your best shot,” he said.

Obviously, it worked out well.

“I would like to give a big thank you to the Hoodland Lutheran Church for the
privilege of being their pastor,” he added. “It can be overwhelming. But you
can share the hope of the gospel and peace and love in the Bible.”

Myke Jagow, a member of the Hoodland Lutheran Church, has known the
pastor for eight years, and has steadily increased her involvement on the
Mountain with the help of the church.

“I have found that there are lots of needs on the Mountain – the Lions Club,
senior center, Neighborhood Missions, and the pastor is still in our small
community,” Jagow said. “I look forward to whatever project he may be
involved in, to assist helping others.”

The Neighborhood Missions was already in place when Scruggs arrived, and it
continues to thrive. The program assists with firewood, utility and rent
payments, food, repairs, transportation, medicines, and more.

The church also bought the Chapel of the Hills building in 2004, the
congregation restored it, and it is now debt free.

“It is a blessing to have people in the congregation willing to invest in that,”
Scruggs said.

The pastor had an eclectic childhood, growing up in Medford where as a boy
worked at the local fish market. He had every teen boy’s dream, a GTO.

“Yeah, I burned a little rubber,” Scruggs said, grinning.

Model trains also became a hobby.

“I’ve been hauling that stuff around for years, hoping to find time to do more
of that,” he said.

He also pursued bowling and golf – and achieved every bowlers dream last
August, a perfect game.

“I had witnesses,” he said.

The pastor is still on call with the Hoodland Fire Department, but confesses he
no longer packs a pager.

He prayed for guidance regarding his decision to retire, and the answer was
for him to take time off and recharge – a well-earned endeavor at the age of
69.

“God will send the right person to the Lutheran Church,” he said. “God will let
me know what he has in mind next. God has a way of shining bright lights
through the doors if he wants you to go through it. I am looking at the whole
thing without fear, and can’t wait to see what happens next.”

The pastor and his wife Judy, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary
earlier this year, enjoyed their first Sunday off in 17 years.

“We slept in, made coffee, had cinnamon rolls and watched TV,” Scruggs said.
“It was wonderful, even had a two-hour nap in the afternoon.”