After college, Joe, Kathy and their two girls built a life in western Michigan. Joe was ordained with the United Church of Christ and was called to serve ministries in Bangor (1983-85), Stanton (1986-88), and Northport (1988-1996), Michigan. Joe's longest ministry was with Trinity Church in Northport, where he gave back to the community as a volunteer EMT, active Lions member, and chartered a community-wide Vacation Bible Camp in the summer.
As a pastor, Joe’s door was always open. When you entered his office, he would immediately ask if you wanted a cup of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate. Along with the beverage, he provided a listening ear and open heart. Joe did all things with compassion, empathy, and a healthy dose of humor.
Joe and Kathy had many close friends in this era of their lives and, for years after, would spend time with friends at Mur, where they would enjoy live action and tabletop gaming, and reconnecting with each other. There’s an infamous story about how one summer, during a game of “Calvinball,” Joe used a young Tami as a shield to deflect the ball. Joe and Kathy would return from Mur with stories of their time with old friends and new games to share for years to come.
Joe excelled at showing love for his family through his acts of service, like the times they surprised Tami with a birthday ice cream cake at Baskin Robbins or threw an elaborate Star Trek murder mystery party for Bekah. Even when the girls were teenagers, he would happily drive them and their friends to the mall and read a book at the food court while the girls shopped.
Joe enjoyed going to the theater at Interlochen Center for the Arts and would often burst into “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” from Pirates of Penzance. He instilled a love of musical theater in Tami and a love of tabletop gaming in Bekah. His bookshelves were bursting with sci-fi and fantasy novels that he would freely let friends borrow.