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For most of Peggy Torda’s life, there has been an unrelenting call from God to pursue ministry.
It was during the installation of a new pastor at her family’s church in Ohio that Peggy first heard the call. Despite being raised in the church, the new pastor’s emotional reaction to his installation service surprised and inspired Peggy, leading her to consider faith in new ways.
She began to think, “There must be more to this church stuff than I thought, and I’m going to find out what it is.”
Peggy enjoyed having this new pastor for her final year of catechism, and her desire to be active in her church grew stronger. “I wanted to be part of everything my church had to offer,” Peggy recalls. But when the time came for her confirmation, she faced an obstacle to her ministry plans.
Peggy attended an all-important meeting with her pastor and her parents prior to confirmation, reciting from memory all the verses of the hymn The Church is One Foundation, plus the Apostles Creed, the Ten Commandments, The Lord’s Prayer, and more. She was ready for questions from her pastor, but he had nothing to ask. Instead, he told her parents he had no doubt Peggy would be ready, and that he was sure God had a plan for her. Then Peggy asked, “Can women become pastors?” The answer was a firm, “No.”
Despite this, Peggy remained active in her church. She sang in the choir, taught Sunday School, served on the Altar Guild, and chaired the Christmas Decorating Committee for 19 years. But her call to serve in ministry was never satiated, and Peggy could not escape the feeling that God was still calling her to do more.
It wasn’t until she and her husband moved to The Villages that God’s call became too loud to ignore. Though the couple felt worn out by their experience at their Ohio church, they soon settled into Hope Lutheran Church, where they felt welcome and loved. Peggy served in a variety of ways, working in the church office, serving on Church Council, and becoming a Communion Server and Worship Assistant.
Once at Hope, the call from God grew louder and louder, and so Peggy met with Pastor Jon-Marc and Pastor Bruce and talked at length with both about ministry opportunities. But it wasn’t until a conversation with Peggy Aiello, a former Hope Deacon, that she finally understood what God was asking of her.
“Deacon Peggy told me to stop putting God into voicemail and answer His call,” Peggy says. Thankfully, she listened.
Peggy Torda is now a diakonia student, finally fulfilling God’s call to pursue larger ministry. She is currently serving Hope during worship and completing her diakonia studies with the Florida-Bahamas Synod. She looks forward to many years of continued ministry and allowing God to use her gifts for His greater purposes.
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