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If anyone can claim to have an exciting work history, it's Bruce Dillman.
He was ordained as a Catholic priest, but left the ministry soon after that. He set out to find a job in his preferred field, but the strained job market made his search difficult.
“I did a stent with the IRS and then completed a certification for teaching math, but there were no jobs,” Bruce shared. He would later find a teaching job and even coached tennis for a time.
Despite leaving active ministry, Bruce remained strong in his faith. He and his wife Anita were Episcopalian for 30 years and were active in their church in Kentucky. When they retired and moved to The Villages, Bruce wanted to simply work at the golf course and give people sand and water. Anita, however, wanted to get involved in a church where she could find relationships and depth. She visited Hope.
Bruce remembers, “She immediately came home telling me I had to come and see the place.”
Three things struck Bruce immediately. He says, “Pastor Marc is an outstanding preacher and presider, the music was phenomenal, and the people welcomed me from the moment I walked into the door. I wasn’t thinking about being a pastor or even being part of a faith community comfortably. But then Anita called Pastor Marc to meet him, and he and I developed a fast and great relationship. He shared Lutheran theology which resonated with me. I was welcome here – even at the table. Anita told Pastor Marc he needed to find something for me to do around the church, and he did.”
Bruce started playing the guitar with a nudge from Ken Wood, Hope's music director. “I hadn’t done that since college,” Bruce said. “Pastor Marc asked me to consider being a parish Deacon and to be part of the preaching rotation.”
Then Anita said to Bruce, “I think you still have the call to ministry that you had way back then.” And he did.
With the support of Hope, Bruce began to explore ministry within an ELCA church. He says, "I went to the synod and talked about what hoops I needed to jump through. I took the required courses, even on campus at the seminary, and I was so affirmed by the number of people who asked me how it was going on a regular basis. They held me up during the process. It was not easy to do. The church paid for my room and board when I was away taking classes. I had to stay in a dorm and use a bathroom down the hall. The church was interested. People were texting me and sending messages of support.”
After Bruce received his approvals from the Synod, Hope held a congregation meeting to vote on calling him as their pastor. The meeting was Labor Day weekend, and a hurricane was barring down. Still, that Sunday afternoon, 400 people gathered and voted unanimously to call Bruce as their pastor.
“It was a very affirming event,” said Bruce. “Phenomenal.”
Today, Bruce serves as a pastor ¾ time at Hope, and he remains truly grateful for the way the people of Hope ministered to him throughout his discernment and call process. “It helped hammer home to me that this was the place that I needed to be serving.”
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