The Holy Spirit Calls….and Equips

Vicar Patti Eaton
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church (Hamilton)

 

As I sat in my favorite pew at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hamilton, Ohio, I was struck by how well the lector was reading the lessons. I thought to myself, perhaps I will do that. I was unaware how the Holy Spirit would transform me and deliver on that thought!

 

I was called to serve as Council Secretary at a time when there was no President or Vice President, and I was it!! The next year I was the Council President. I had two peaceful months as President and then, lo and behold, I had to work with Council on closing the church due to the COVID pandemic.

 

My tenure as President saw many other challenges and the Holy Spirit kept me on a growth and improvement plan the likes of which surprised me. My Pastor contracted COVID, and I found myself leading our worship several Sundays and on Christmas Eve! I found my true place in God’s world when I led worship, but I felt ill equipped for this task and investigated how I could get some theological education fast.

 

Another member was helping me with worship, and she discovered the Southern Ohio Synod Leadership Academy. Both she and I started the Lay Worship Leader Program. Once I had that program under my belt, I wanted more, so I enrolled in the SAM Program.

 

The Holy Spirit was guiding me along the path of ensuring continued worship for my church and assisting me in realizing a goal that was slowly becoming clearer to me. Shortly after enrolling in the SAM [Synod Authorized Minister] Program, Zion was without a Pastor! Bishop Dillahunt and Pastor Bob Abrams worked closely with me and with their support and encouragement I was able to shift my course of study over to the T.E.E.M. program. Pastor Steve Kimm and Pastor Carey Hovland advocated for me, and I was immediately put on a fast track for T.E.E.M. Zion would have one of their own as their Ordained Minister in about a year and a half. The Holy Spirit made that happen, for you see, I am no spring chicken. I retired 10 years ago from a 44-year career as a nurse! I am the oldest student in the T.E.E.M. program. God doesn’t care about our construct of age.

 

I have 4 more courses to complete, and I will be graduating in May of 2025 with a wonderful group of students. I honestly never saw this call coming, but others in the know did. I am humbled and excited to be serving God and my church as Vicar Patti, God willing, soon to be Pastor Patti.