Long Time La Pine Pastor Retiring

A long-time La Pine pastor is retiring after nearly 60 years in the ministry. Pastor Walter Ealum of the La Pine Pentecostal Church says he feels the lord is moving him onto to another transition. While he has been preaching for the past 14 years in La Pine, he may be best remembered for climbing on top of the church roof and preaching.

It was 1999, and Pastor Ealum made headlines when he climbed on top of the La Pine Pentecostal Church building, stood behind a pulpit and preached a sermon.

“It was kind of comical, because he was quite a bit younger than he was now, but he still was an older man,” said Ernestine Ealum, the pastor’s wife.”And some of the guys didn’t want him climbing on that sharp roof.”

It was a surprise to church members and even to his wife.

“The wind was blowing, and it kept blowing his notes away and his Bible pages turning,” Ernestine said. “But they tied a rope around him to get him up there safely.”

It’s just one of the memorable moments in Pastor Ealum’s ministry.

“I enjoy people,” Ealum said. “I like to pray with them, and I carry their burdens.”

He’s been known to visit sick people in the hospital, visiting at all hours of the day, sometimes in the middle of the night.

“I was there with them at any time,” Pastor Ealum said.

Ealum wasn’t born or raised in a Christian environment, but he gave his heart to the Lord in 1949, thanks to a preacher named Willard. And in 1952, he started his first church in California.

Walter and Ernestine refer to their parishioners as a big family.

“The church people here are just like our family,” Ernestine said. “Actually, they are just like our kids.”

The Ealums have been a huge part of the church community. They’ve helped remodel the old church and build the new one.

And after Walter’s more than 60 years in the ministry, the Ealums say they’ve come to the point where it’s time to pass the mantle to a younger preacher.

And as parishioners gathered for a farewell dinner, the Ealums wanted to remind them:

“Know that we leave here loving them and knowing that the church is going to go forth,” Ernestine said. “There’s going to be great things done in this area. I believe that.”

“I will miss them tremendously because they have been part of my life, here in the church,” Pastor Ealum said. “They have blessed us — they have blessed me.”

The favorite memory for both of the Ealums is when the church community paid for them to go to Israel. They say it was a blessing for them, and a wonderful memory they will never forget.