Young to be comissioned for ministry in ELCA

Marcia Young of Le Mars will be commissioned as an Associate in Ministry (AiM) during a 2 p.m. consecretion service at St. John Lutheran Church in Le Mars. She has accepted a call to serve St. John. [Click to enlarge]

When Marcia Young graduated from high school, she wanted to attend seminary to become a pastor.

There was only one roadblock: the Lutheran church was not yet ordaining women as pastors at that time.

Instead, she went to college, majoring in business and theology, married and became a mother, and always remained active in her church.

Those years of service and faith that God would lead her through will culminate in her commissioning as an Associate in Ministry (AiM) in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). A Consecration Service is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28, at St. John Lutheran Church in Le Mars, where Young is a member and has been called to serve. The Rev. Danette Johns, assistant to the bishop of the Western Iowa Synod, will officiate the service.

"Around 2000, I felt God tap me on the shoulder and tell me, 'now is the time,'" said Young from her office at St. John Lutheran Church where she has been serving as a lay minister.

Following graduation from high school, Young attended Waldorf College, worked a year at Grace Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minn., as a parish worker/secretary, and completed her education at Dana College. Both colleges are affiliated with the Lutheran church.

"I always felt very comfortable working in the church setting," Young said, whether it was teaching Sunday school, catechism classes, serving as a WELCA officer (Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) or in the choir.

"It was always a part of my life, besides being a wife and mother," she said.

Soon after she felt that "tap on the shoulder" she enrolled the ELCA's Lay School of Ministry through the Western Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The Lay School of Ministry is a two-year program designed to assist people in deepening their faith in Jesus Christ and expanding their understanding of Lutheran identity and leadership in the mission of the church, according to information from the Western Iowa Synod.

After completing the program, participants will work with their pastor and council to create a covenant on how they will use the leadership gifts at the congregation and synodical levels.

Young was a member of the first class to complete the Lay School of Ministry program. She also completed the Clinical Pastoral Education offered at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center.

Young came on staff at St. John in 2004 as a visitation lay minister, visiting the sick and shut-ins as well as assisting at worship services.

It wasn't long before she took the next step, that to complete an Associate in MInistry (AiM) degree. The study, which she took through Trinity Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, included home study, with visits to the Western Iowa Synod office in Storm Lake and writing papers.

Following the completion of her AiM studies, the congregation of St. John Lutheran in Le Mars decided to extend a call to Young, leading to her consecration service this Sunday.

"To be consecrated as an AiM and according to ELCA guidelines, the candidate must receive a letter of call from a congregation," Young explained. "And St. John decided to call me to serve here."

Once consecrated, Young will be a rostered clergy member of the ELCA.

She will continue with the visitation aspect of her job, as well as assisting in worship services and funerals, and also preaching.

Young said it has been a long process from the time she realized God was calling her to serve to the point of Sunday's consecration service.

"It's very exciting," she said. "It's not only an affirmation of the work I've done, it also meant we would be able to stay here at St. John."

"You're rewarded for the spiritual gifts you are called to use," she said.

Young's husband Bill is retired, and has taken on more duties at home, while she takes on what she calls her "second career."

"You must remember, God works in His time and schedule," Young said with a smile.

"All you do and your life experiences prepared you for roles and opportunities later in life," Young said.

Young said she really enjoys the chaplaincy work of visitation with the sick and shut-ins.

"I feel this is where God wants me. I'm very comfortable with it and thoroughly enjoy it," she said.

Young grew up in Northwood, just three miles from the Minnesota border, and lived there until the family moved to Le Mars about 22 years ago.

She calls her husband, Bill "a wonderful support through all this."

The couple has three children, son Steven and and his wife Kari and their two children live at Algona; daughter Stephanie and her husband Matt Early and two children live in Sioux City; and son Scott and his wife Jessica and one child live near Cedar Rapids.

Young's children, too, have been supportive of her decision to pursue the AiM degree.

"Yes, there will be a change in the way our family does some things," she said.

Young feels comfortable with the changes ahead.

"It's a new role in our lives," Young said.