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Pastor Matthew Loy Ernst, proud son of Spokane, Wash., and gifted Lutheran parish pastor across four states and six decades, died on April 21 of natural causes.
He left detailed instructions with his family that his body is to lie in state in front of the Heinz ketchup factory in Pittsburgh, then be present at a crab feast in the undercroft of the church where he served in Baltimore, paraded through suburban Atlanta and Charlotte, where he also served, and finally be parked at the center of a “huge BBQ” in the picnic shelter at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Ocean Isle Beach.
His family is pretty sure he was kidding—especially since he left out any mention of a tie-in to Apple computers—but not certain.
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Matthew Loy Ernst was born October 28, 1939, in a snowstorm, to Henry J. Ernst, a detail-oriented optometrist, and Bertha Swinehart Ernst, a champion rose grower and Lutheran pastor’s kid. Matt had an idyllic youth surrounded by family—including his sister, Suzanne, and countless aunts, uncles, and cousins—golf, laughter, and church life. After high school, Matt graduated from Pacific Lutheran College and Wartburg Theological Seminary.
While on summer internship in Pittsburgh in 1964, he opened an office door that turned out to be the door to his future when he saw Karen Gerhard sitting at the Lutheran Social Services desk. Six weeks later, they were engaged. He always said the happiest day of his life was their wedding in July 1965.
Matt brought his prodigious talents for ministry—a dynamic spirit, love of music, intellectual curiosity, peerless sense of humor, knack for community-building, joy of fellowship, and too many others to list—to Lutheran congregations in Pittsburgh (St. John), Baltimore (St. Luke’s), Lilburn, Ga. (All Saints; founding pastor), Charlotte (Living Saviour), and Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. (St. Luke).
Service and justice were part of Matt’s essence, from marching for civil rights in Selma, Ala., in 1965 to resettling Vietnam War–era refugees to serving unhoused and disenfranchised people throughout his life. His passion drew others into lives of service, too. During Matt’s 25 years in Ocean Isle Beach, he volunteered with the Brunswick Literacy Council, Hope Harbor Home, and Meals on Wheels Thanksgiving dinner, among many others, and served as a hospital chaplain and regional supply pastor.
Matt is survived by Karen and their three children, Heidi Jones, Ruby Wolfe, and Jonathan Ernst; daughter-in-law, Emily Sollie; four grandchildren, Madeleine Jones, Joshua Krumnaker, Cecilia Wolfe, and Jack-Henry Ernst; and two great-grandchildren, Carson Krumnaker and Sutton Krumnaker. The family invites all who knew Matt to a celebration of his life on Saturday, June 17, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.
If you feel moved to remember Matt with an offering, he would have liked you to give to—or serve—a worthy cause.
Matt frequently told his children that his one and only ambition for them was to “be kind.” They are certain it would have been his wish for everyone else too.
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