CALL ESSAY FOR SVMC – MARLYS HERSHBERGER
JULY 2022
“A minister?” she asked. “Sure. You’d be great. But, really? You would want to? You’re a teacher!”
This was a common response as people in the congregation learned I had voiced a desire to become a minister and there was to be a vote regarding licensing. I had been waiting for almost a year for others to comment and call me to the role if this was indeed God’s will for me. But people seemed to assume my role as teacher fit me just fine. One older gentleman even stated opposition. “I don’t want to lose you as a teacher in our school district. We need good teachers to stay.”
I had wanted to be a teacher since I entered kindergarten. And I worked at many jobs as I grew up, beginning with a paper route and babysitting, then moving on to a wide range of other jobs, in and out of church. In college I settled on certification to teach foreign languages, in part because I could teach a variety of my many interests—vocabulary and grammar, but also geography and history, culture and social sciences, literature, art and more.
I enjoyed teaching. I enjoyed the varied interactions with students and others, pointing them in new directions, and helping them learn. It was rewarding to witness students’ “ah-hah” moments when pieces connected, falling into place. My big moment was yet to come.
I had grown up with a strong a desire for a greater knowledge and experience of God, especially in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. I had grown up with parents who were active in the Church of the Brethren, and we moved around and experienced many life changes as my father changed careers when I entered 3rd grade and we went with him to college and seminary as he became a pastor. By the time I was 45 years old, married and with four children, I had lived many places and been active myself in churches, performing many and varied tasks with church and community people of every age, pointing to Jesus, and helping us all learn more of God’s vision and grace.
As I came to serve on the District Ministry Commission, I helped to interview pastoral candidates. As I listened, I had strong desires to answer aloud the interview questions about biblical knowledge, spiritual understanding, and mission goals. I thought, “This is what I do. This is who I am.” And so it was that I waited for others to call me into ministry if formal ministry was indeed God’s will for me. It was a commission member who finally spoke up and challenged me to voice the call I was feeling. Others joined in affirmation.
So, I entered into ministry education with TRIM while I continued public school teaching a few more years. And it was in my supervised ministry experience, serving as an interim pastor, that the Spirit gifted me with an “AH-HAH!” Yes, all the pieces of my life were falling into place. My life made sense.
Are we overlooking others with a call to ministry who appear content in their life and work?
Marlys A. Hershberger
Interim Pastor, New Enterprise Church of the Brethren