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It would
never have crossed my mind to become a pastor. I am a "PK"
(pastor’s kid) through my mother’s marriage to my
step Dad and the life of a pastor is neither glamorous nor wealthy.
Sometimes, it’s downright uncomfortable. So I set out
to work with families and ended up doing daycare in my home
while my own family was being created and grown. Several years
into the daycare business, I was talked into becoming a Parish
Ministry Associate (PMA). It seemed a good way to learn more
about the church, maybe become youth leader and to simply get
out of the house while enriching my intellect and spirit.
After doing childcare
for 9 years, I had begun praying for God to open to me a door—it
was time to do something new. I agreed to become the director
of an LCMS preschool that served 100 families through the school
year. It was across the street from my home. Four classes of
about 24 students, two other staff and a new facility were in
the deal for me while they got a person who was ready to grow
in a new direction yet seasoned and educated in working with
children. Everything was in motion. I was shadowing my predecessor
for a year to learn the ropes and get a feel for how to structure
the year …but somehow, I wasn’t excited in my soul.
I kept waiting for that to appear.
In January prior
to my directorship the next fall, I had a pastor friend ask
me if I wanted to serve ‘about 6 months’ in a rural
parish 85 miles from my home. He needed to vacate the interim
he was in and wanted to have a person who could step in until
the congregation found a pastor to call. At first I laughed,
then I prayed, then my friend told me to use my gifts…”it’s
only for 6 months!”
So I quit the daycare
business and commuted. In July, I told the predecessor at the
preschool I wanted to back out. She denied me the option. In
August, I told the Director of the Board, I needed to back out.
He denied me the option and told me I was obligated for at least
a year. In September, I did both vocations and God sent a qualified
person to work with me and she took over. I served that parish
18 months until it was time for them to call an ordained minister.
Then I grieved.
A position opened
as Growth Coordinator at a congregation about 6 blocks from
my home and I applied and was hired. I also had one consistent
pulpit supply as I went through the preliminary stage of candidacy.
It surprised me that the committee thought my call could be
genuine… it still surprises me that I am headed in the
ordination path…yet here I am. The committee endorsed
me for a Master’s of Divinity (MDIV). Being unable to
relocate geographically due to my husband’s job, I found
a new on-line MDIV that the committee did not yet endorse.
Praying often that
God would affirm the call I heard and asking that he offer me
a path to serve that would also strengthen my family, I received
an answer when the Candidacy Committee opened to me the possibility
of serving as a Theological Education for Emerging Ministries
(TEEM) Program candidate at a small parish 45 minutes from home.
Through the TEEM program, I would receive alternative education
to prepare me to provide pastoral ministry for the church.
It seemed like God
was supplying and matching gifts and ministries through both
of these positions. Serving to assist growth is missional in
its very definition. To ‘grow’ a parish, one must
learn about the parish, its community and how to connect the
two with the gospel as glue. In order to be a pastoral leader,
one must use gifts of leadership, Word and sacrament. The gifts
God has given me have been tested and stretched through both
of these positions.
As I grow
through the TEEM process of ordination, I look forward to where
God is leading while enjoying the amazing and ever unfolding
journey he offers as I follow the calls he sends.
I thank the Central
States Synod, ELCA, for assisting and supporting me in my seminary
studies through prayers, guidance, and providing financial support
through the Central States Synod Mission Endowment Fund.
Amy Truhe
Scherer Memorial Lutheran Church
Chapman, Kansas
June 17, 2008
“May
he grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your
plans.” Psalm 20:4 (NRSV)
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