April 2023

Member Spotlight Lee Hunsberger

It was suggested that the newsletter might highlight some of our long time church members in an article every so often. So this month our featured member is Lee Hunsberger. (editor)

Q: How old were you when you first started attending First Presbyterian in Ionia?

Lee:  My family moved from Plainfield Township (northeast of Grand Rapids) to RR#3, Ionia in September 1952. Prior to that, we attended the North Park Presbyterian Church. I don’t remember much about North Park since I was four when we moved, but I do remember that there seemed to be a lot more kids my age when we landed in Ionia.

Q:  What are some memories you have of your Church School years? Youth fellowship?

Lee: I remember sitting in worship at age four. I thought the minister was tall; as an adult, I learned he was five foot four. I attended a country school where there were only two others in my class; so Sunday was pretty exciting, because I would see many other kids my age or close.

The existing children’s wing did not exist when I was a kid. Sunday school was held in the four rooms by the fellowship hall. Moveable dividers separated the rooms. Older kids met upstairs in the two rooms next to the kitchenette and a chapel where the men’s room is. The only restrooms were in the basement. There was no elevator.

Q: Were you confirmed as a youth, or did you join the church later as an adult?

Lee:  Church was my favorite place to go downtown until I was a teenager. The youth got together at least once a week to talk and gawk and feel awkward. When I was about 14, I started to feel pressure to join the church. I wasn’t ready for an eternal commitment then, so I started attending less and less. We lived on a farm so it was convenient to stay home and help Dad milk the cows rather than go to church with Mom. I did not stop altogether, but I did not join either. Then I went to college.

Two decades passed. I got married and divorced and married again. One Sunday morning, my wife Barb (Klenk), was going to church as I was going to my workshop. She said, “I’m having lunch with your Mom after church. She won’t live forever. When she is gone, you will wish you spent more time with her.” What Barb said made sense. I started going to church again with Mom and Barb in Ionia; it was 1987.

Q: Who have been the influential people in your Christian faith development and your continued involvement in the church?

Lee:  When I think of people who revived my faith in Jesus and God, I think of Mom and Barb and Reverend  Bob Nixon. You could ask Bob any question. He might ponder for a while, but he always had an answer. When Bob retired, Mark Keeley took the pulpit. He asked if I had ever considered being a member. I lied and said I had not. Barb and I completed a new membership class and joined the church around 1990.

Around 2000, my mother broke her leg and moved in with us for a few months. About this time, living in Portland, Barb and I thought we would go to a church closer to home, since Mom could not longer attend. 

For a while we attended a Congregational Church in Portland where Bob Nixon was interim pastor after he retired. Then we had occasion to come back to First Pres. for a funeral. There was a new pastor; he was OK. But we realized we missed our church family. Ionia First was our home church. So we came back, and we have been here ever since and will be until neither of us can drive the 20 miles one way.

Q: What leadership roles have you had during your years as a member of the church?

Lee:  Around 2000 or so, I was asked to join the Session. It was a hard decision for me. I had already attended too many meetings. But I agreed and was elected and ordained an elder. I was chair of the Worship Committee in my first stint on Session. I tried to do every task related to worship (including nursery duty). I believe it is important to experience first hand if you can. My opinion is that Worship and Mission are the two most important standing committees of Session. I currently chair Budget and Finance, definitely my easiest assignment; since Covid, no meetings. The toughest part of being chair of budget and finance is avoiding the temptation to influence policy based on my personal opinion. My job is to oversee bookkeeping and accounting; pay quarterly payroll taxes, review insurance coverage, report monthly to the session, report annually to the congregation and try to answer questions.
There are days when I have doubts. Certainly there are days when I would deny what I believe if it would save my life. I can tell you this: faith makes me a better person than if I had no faith. And if you see me in church, it is because of Mom and Barb and Bob and God.