Rev. Jill Keyser Speicher
From the time I graduated high school in the Pottstown, PA, area, I worked full-time for various nonprofits while taking college evening courses. I met my husband, Tim Speicher, at Bethany Theological Seminary when he was a student there and I worked in the Development Office. In 1984, our first year of marriage, Tim completed his Master of Divinity and I completed my B.S. in Business Administration. We set off to his first full-time pastorate in Lebanon County, PA.
While at Mt. Zion Road COB, I landed a capital fund campaign position at Evangelical School of Theology, Myerstown, PA. While there, I took Old and New Testament classes for credit. I was grateful that these credits counted towards my eventual M.Div. degree.
Our next move in 1988 was to Wilmington (DE) COB, and then to Wyomissing COB in Reading, PA, in 1991. Tim and I went through a lengthy struggle with infertility and in the end were unable to have our own biological child which was our goal.
I was called to reach out to others who were hurting or had a deep disappointment in their lives and needed to feel that God cares for them. One special experience confirmed my call to be a hospital chaplain. Tim’s cousin and her husband also moved to Wyomissing. Within a year, the husband suffered a massive heart attack at a time when Tim was unavailable. I went to the hospital myself to sit with Tim’s cousin through the trauma of her husband’s death.
I considered the Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center for my seminary education but could not spend a semester at Bethany’s main campus. I attended a “discover” weekend at Lancaster Theological Seminary and decided to earn my M.Div. degree there. One of my classmates happened to be a fellow Anabaptist, a Mennonite.
The Wyomissing COB surrounded me with their love and support through the licensing and ordination process. I served a student pastorate at Lancaster COB while at LTS.
The Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center has offered many opportunities for me over the years since my graduation from LTS in 2002. Their continuing education classes have been excellent.
I served as a chaplain for long term care facilities, hospitals, and hospice, before I stopped working due to disability over 6 years ago. However, I still enjoy attending the continuing education classes because they are so very enriching.
