Adirondack Alliance Church interim pastor ordained
SARANAC LAKE — The Adirondack Alliance Church held an ordination service Sunday afternoon for Dan Ockrin, who serves as the church’s interim pastor, a position he has held since December 2022.
The service, which Ockrin described as similar to a graduation ceremony, capped off a four-year period of work, study and mentorship.
“The ordination process in the Christian Ministry Alliance (an evangelical denomination of Christianity of which Adirondack Alliance Church is affiliated) is complex, and it’s not something that happens overnight,” he said while cracking a smile. He described the stages of becoming a pastor.
Ockrin said the initial application process involved a series of essays asking him about his interest in the church and an interview with him and his wife, Jocelyn.
“It’s one of these applications where you have a million essays to write,” Ockrin said.
After being approved by the Christian Ministry Alliance following his interview, Ockrin headed back to the classroom, having already completed a bachelor’s degree in history at Houghton College, located in New York state, and a master’s degree in English from the University of Nottingham, located in England.
The next step, accreditation, involves learning the ministry, and becoming fully acquainted with the role of a pastor and the Bible’s teachings. Ockrin said this amounted to 30 college credit hours of theology and took him two years to complete. He completed the program through the Alliance School of Ministry.
After becoming accredited, the following step is licensing, which Ockrin said also took two years to complete.
“You have to be licensed for two years, and during that time you work with an ordination mentor, another pastor. You learn to serve in the role and receive feedback from your mentor.”
During this time, Ockrin was able to serve as interim pastor in Saranac Lake, which he said his district superintendent identified as needing someone to provide sermons on Sundays.
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Family support
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Ockrin’s family was on hand for the day’s special occasion, all traveling from Crown Point: his wife; three daughters, Noah, Mary Ruth and Tali; and parents John and Nancy Ockrin. Dan said his parents, while not members of the Adirondack Alliance Church, come up to Saranac Lake “about once a month” to provide music for the church’s services.
According to Nancy Ockrin, her son has had a special relationship with God since he was young.
“Who else, at the age of 10, memorizes the entire book of the New Testament, and repeats it back to me?” she said. Dan then pointed out that he was not quite sure if he knew the entire book then, but had learned a number of the testament’s passages.
Regardless of how much of the book he knew at any given point in his childhood, Nancy said her son’s dedication went beyond memorization.
“One time my mom had been bitten by a brown recluse spider,” she said. It was really serious, and she was in the hospital. Dan did fast and pray for three days, at the age of 10, for my mom and she made it. … I knew that he had the call of God on his life, but I didn’t want to put that on him. I figured he’s got to come into that on his own, but I definitely saw that at a young age.”
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Pastor’s purpose
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For Dan Ockrin, being a pastor means being there for people.
“As a pastor, you’re caring for people. You’re meeting them where they’re at,” he said.
“Maybe it’s relationship struggles. Perhaps they or a loved one are dealing with health problems, addiction, whatever it may be,” he said. You’re there to just try to be (a form of) support. The idea is you’re trying to love people like God would be loving them if he were here.”
Ockrin said he travels to Saranac Lake from Crown Point, where he grew up and currently lives, twice per week: Sundays for the regularly scheduled worship services, as well as Wednesdays, where he works on a variety of logistical and community tasks for the church. During those days, he meets with people in his offices to provide this support, as well as visiting people in hospitals or their homes if they are homebound.
“The bottom line is I don’t have anything to offer. It’s God. If God’s going to use me to comfort people, he can. All you have to do is show up,” he said.
Ockrin continues to serve as interim pastor at the Adirondack Alliance Church following the ceremony. To be the church’s pastor, the individual must reside in the Saranac Lake area, whereas Ockrin commutes to Saranac Lake from Crown Point. The Christian Ministries Alliance is still seeking a candidate to fill the position. In the meantime, Ockrin will continue to serve as the interim pastor at the church.
The Adirondack Alliance Church is located at 72 Canaras Ave. Services are held at 10 a.m. Sunday. More information can be found at adkalliance.org.
(This story has been updated to include the fact that Dan Ockrin remains the church’s interim pastor.)