Pastor Barry Hunteman has informed his flock at Hope Lutheran Church in The Villages that after 42 years as a pastor, he’s ready to retire.
“Eighteen years ago on July 15, 1998, I began a call of our Lord through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to develop a mission in a small community of about 18,000 people. This small town was referred to as The Villages of Lady Lake at that time,” Hunteman said in a letter to members of the congregation.
In 2000, the church became a self-supporting congregation of the ELCA.
Hunteman became known to many in The Villages, thanks in part, to his preaching at the Church on the Square.
The son of a minister who grew up in Indiana, Hunteman wants his final “official” act to be the baptism of his second grandchild, due in November. His retirement is set for Jan. 15.
Hunteman and his wife, Kay, make their home in The Villages.
“The future is before both of us. The best is yet to come,” Hunteman said.
