Henry Yoder's Legacy

In his thirty-five years as Lutheran campus pastor at the U-M, Henry Yoder touched the lives of hundreds of students in profound and decisive ways. But in addition to this, he left an indelible mark upon the ministry itself. Although Pastor Yoder eventually went on to serve as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in nearby Saline, he continued to have an active interest in the campus ministry that had been such an integral part of his life and witness. Almost as if to underscore his very special relationship to that ministry, Pastor Yoder returned to the Lutheran Campus Chapel on May 9, 1980 as a supply pastor to perform what was to be his final ministerial duties. It seems fitting that on this the day before he died – a date which ironically marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of that chapel – Pastor Yoder was once again to be found preaching from a familiar pulpit, challenging university students with the claim of Christ’s gospel.