The Rev. Mark Sawyer will celebrate his retirement as pastor at Lakewood Community Center at the worship service at 10 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 28, followed by a potluck lunch, at 5097 Scribner Road in Bemidji.
Sawyer started the Lakewood Community Church in 1996. The church has grown from members meeting in each others homes to a church located on 10 acres of land in Wilton. In 2008, Sawyer was diagnosed with a rare brain disease that took a toll on his ministry. After 20 years of service, he will retire and pass the pulpit to the Rev. Keith Willard, a member of Lakewood Community Church for 12 years and a youth pastor for 10 years.
