St. Paul Westlake Pastor Emeritus and Interim Principal to Retire

BY RICK HAASE

WESTLAKE – The Rev. Dr. David Buegler has been part of St. Paul Lutheran Church and School for 30 years. Buegler, 72, has been serving as the Interim Principal of Westlake’s oldest independent preparatory school since January, following the resignation of former Principal Dale Lehrke.

He also has served the St. Paul flock as Associate Pastor for more than 20 years.

For many there he is St. Paul.

Buegler is stepping down as the school’s interim principal with the arrival of new Administrator Jeremy Louden from Houston, Texas July 2. For the fourth time, he’s giving retirement a try.

“My five months as Interim Principal have been an honor. I just love these kids. The hugs, the high-fives in the hallways – they’ve made my days better, and I hope I’ve made their days as students better.”

According to Buegler, “Some congregations in our western suburbs make a difference through aggressive ministries to the inner-city…the hungry and the homeless. Other congregations make a difference through wonderful worship and music ministries. Other congregations make a difference through direct support of foreign mission work and workers through volunteer mission trips. Other congregations offer significant day-care and pre-school ministries. Other congregations do wonderful ministry through small caring groups. Still others focus their ministry on certain age groups with outstanding youth programs or senior citizen ministries. The list goes on and on. But I’m convinced more than ever that St. Paul Westlake makes a difference primarily through our Christian parochial school.”

Buegler boasts an impressive resume filled with both national and international synodical work. He admits he’s much more comfortable speaking in front of 10,000 people than before a small group of individuals. As the former Executive Director of both Lutheran East and Lutheran West High Schools, Ohio District President and the fifth Vice President of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, his work has taken him all over the world.

He served two terms in that latter role including work as the President’s representative on the Ft. Wayne Seminary Board of Regents, chair of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on “Funding the Mission,” and on the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance.

But he’s most at home at St. Paul Westlake on Detroit Road.

“We’re changing lives,” he said. “The ability to make a difference (for children) is huge. Researcher George Barna says that by the time a child is 13, most of their values have been shaped. Both home and culture are major players in that, but you cannot underestimate the power of six hours a day in the classroom.”

Buegler says that being a school principal today is a tough job.

“Balancing state paperwork, safety, the faculty, budget and enrollment. You have to be a master juggler. You have all these balls in the air, and you don’t want to let any of them fall.”

Serving students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 8, St. Paul Westlake celebrates its 160th anniversary during the 2018-2019 school year.

Buegler says that physically and academically those are formative years in the life of a student.

In addition to his Interim Principal duties, Buegler has also continued his regular duties as Pastor Emeritus.

“Preaching, teaching, weddings, funerals, some pastoral care work and lots of meetings has created quite a schedule,” he said. With Louden’s arrival, he looks forward to a much less hectic life.

He and his wife, Susan, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on August 25.

They both love to travel, and will be taking an August Caribbean cruise to celebrate.

It’s the one way he really relaxes.

“River cruises, ocean cruises or a boat on Lake Erie – I find great relaxation out on the water.”

A native of Blue Earth Minnesota, Buegler entered Minnesota State University in Mankato after high school graduation, where he earned an undergraduate with honors in Accounting and Economics. He then went on to Concordia Theological Seminary in Springfield, Illinois, and received the Master of Divinity degree.

He served a year of vicarage at Trinity Lutheran Church in Jackson, Michigan and then accepted his first call to that congregation as Assistant Pastor to Dr. W. Harry Krieger, then Vice President of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. Following the death of Dr. Krieger, he was named Administrative Pastor and served in that capacity until 1980 when he accepted a call to St. Paul Lutheran Church in Napoleon, Ohio. As Administrative Pastor there, he was chosen in 1988 to serve as Ohio District President of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.

He has served at St. Paul Westlake in since March 1996.

Despite all his success, Buegler is a self-admitted introvert. That’s a fact he says will surprise most people who meet him.

“I’ve learned that there is a necessity for people skills to make the church relational and attractive. But there are times when I’m quite content to be alone,” he said.

Buegler served on the Board of Trustees of the Fairview/Lutheran Hospital division of the Cleveland Clinic from 1995-2012. He currently serves as a Director of the $100 million Community West Foundation Board in Cleveland, and continues to be a frequent motivational speaker throughout the church.

He holds two Doctor of Laws degrees: one from the faculty and Board of Regents of Concordia College in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the other from the faculty and Board of Regents of Concordia College in Chicago, Illinois.

He calls this a critical time for St. Paul Westlake School.

“The school is a key ministry of the church, and it must adapt in order to sustain itself.”

Buegler and his wife have two married daughters and six grandchildren. The couple resides in Avon.