MANISTEE — The Rev. Patrick Pointer is aware of when he stands in entrance of his congregation on the 10:30 am service this Sunday on the Manistee Meeting of God, it is going to probably be a really emotional one for him.
After 20 years of faithfully serving the wants of the Manistee congregation, Pointer is stepping away from being their minister to focus his consideration on his well being points. For the previous two years he has been battling a sequence of well being challenges that every one started when he was recognized with bone most cancers in June 2021, which he was capable of overcome.
From that time, he has encountered an enormous array of different well being points, the causes of which has puzzled even the College of Michigan Hospital medical doctors. That is why Pointer stated he determined to tender his resignation to church officers on Jan. 2.
“One of the best determination was made as a result of it was time to simply step down and concentrate on my well being,” Pointer stated. “I’m not really retiring both, it is simply that I’ve to step down proper now. We actually have no idea what the long run holds presently, and now we have no plans to go away the group presently.”
He stated serving in Manistee for the previous 20 years has been great for him, his spouse Joanie and their youngsters. The bond he created along with his congregation is second to none in his opinion of him.
“We love the group, the church and folks we’re serving now and over the previous 20 years,” he stated. “I’ve to say it has in all probability been probably the most troublesome determination I’ve ever needed to make.”
Pointer stated the congregation and others locally have been very supportive of his struggle to enhance his well being.
“There may be undoubtedly a robust love connection now we have and it is likely one of the issues I’ve all the time appreciated about our church congregation over all of the 20 years now we have been right here,” he stated. “We now have a congregation who has all the time beloved individuals and made them really feel very accepted.”
Nevertheless, he stated presently it was in his greatest pursuits to step away from the ministry till he will get extra definitive solutions regarding his well being. He hasn’t dominated out returning to the ministry sooner or later.
“I’m an ordained minister within the Meeting of God and that may be a lifetime dedication to ministry,” he stated. “Though what I am going by way of proper now I proceed to minister to others.”
Pointer has achieved that by creating a web-based presence documenting his medical journey that he hopes will encourage others who’re going through critical medical challenges.
“I do it with a Fb web page known as ‘Struggle’n the Struggle and Hold’n the Religion,’” he stated. “It is a web page anybody is welcome to go on and look because it has tracked the whole lot well being smart since I used to be first recognized with most cancers and the therapeutic of most cancers proper on as much as at present.”
He stated when he posts on that web page, he asks for prayer in telling his story on what he’s going by way of presently. One other a part of why he has the web page is to encourage different individuals going through well being challenges of their very own.
“I’ve individuals from all around the world who’re part of that web page,” Pointer stated.
Pointer stated he additionally misses doing one thing else he enjoys, which is making swords and scabbards for museums, archaeologists, historians and reenactors all around the world.
“I did that to complement my earnings and have not been ready to try this as nicely for the previous 21 months,” he stated. “My final two swords I did had been for the Creation Museum down in Kentucky.”
Pointer stated he hopes within the coming weeks and months he’ll discover solutions to his well being issues. He stated he has gone by way of numerous assessments as they proceed to hunt solutions.
“My physique has been attacked in so many alternative ways in which I even have seen 32 completely different medical groups over the previous 22 months and the bulk are on the College of Michigan,” Pointer stated. “My case has everybody baffled as every workforce finds one thing of their division after which refers again to oncology.”
Pointer additionally had COVID-19 and is a part of a long-term COVID examine on the College of Michigan, however medical doctors do not suppose his issues are attributed to that illness.
He and his household hope that by taking time to concentrate on his well being points, Pointer will discover some solutions to what he supply together with therapy so he can return to a standard life.
Following the service on the church on Sunday, he shall be honored with a dinner on the Bungalow Inn.