Narrative Taken from Installation Service Order of Worship, dated November 6, 1983

The Reverend Reuben C. Baerwald was born October 24, 1925 at Horicon, Wisconsin. He was graduated from Concordia College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1945. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis, Missouri in 1946, and the degree Bachelor of Divinity from the same institution in 1949.
Reverend Baerwald served his first Pastorate at Zion Lutheran Church, Geneva, New York from 1950 to 1954. From 1954 through 1965 he was Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Alton, Illinois.
He served as Campus Pastor at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois from 1965-1969. During the years 1963-1967, he also served the Southern Illinois District of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod as Second Vice-President, serving the District again as First Vice-President from 1967 to 1969.
In the period 1969-1973, Reverend Baerwald was Secretary, Department of Campus Ministry, of the Lutheran Council in the U.S.A. From 1973 until accepting the Call as Pastor to St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Pastor Baerwald served as Executive Director of the Division of Campus Ministry and Educational Services of the Lutheran Council in the U.S.A.
Reverend Baerwald has authored/edited books published by Concordia Publishing House as well as articles appearing in The Lutheran Witness, Advance, Interaction and Workers Quarterly.
Pastor Baerwald is the father of four children, Susan, Charles, John and Mark (twins) and is married to the former Joan McCauley. The Baerwalds reside on White Oak Circle in St. Charles.

When Pastor Baerwald retired, St. Mark's assembled a tribute to him in a December 1990 Insight publication. Click here to read it (4.3mb).