The end of summer is always a time of change. Children and teachers go back to their books and their learning. There are new clothes, new shoes, and new supplies for school. The Sunday School gears up for a new year with new curriculum, markers, and glue sticks, the classrooms are cleaned, and new bulletin boards go up. Gardeners clean out the beds and get their gardens ready for winter. At Saint Nicholas a new vicar becomes part of the landscape.

Change brings with it a measure of uncertainty. You probably wonder about the new vicar and what she will be like. I wonder how it will be to live in a new place and to minister with and to a new group of people. Change is also an opportunity for discovery and learning. I look forward to getting to know all of the saints at Saint Nicholas from the very youngest to the most senior members.

I am grateful for the opportunity to live among God’s people in Calvert County and to learn in a new place in the coming year. By the ministry of the internship, you are providing a space for future leaders in the church to grow and to learn. That is a gift both to the church and to me, and I give thanks to God and to you for this opportunity! Each one of you will be part of the adjunct faculty of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, helping me learn to be the best pastor that I can be.

Here are some things you might like to know about me. I have been a child of God for 50 years, having been baptized in the Roman Catholic church when I was nearly three years old. I became a Lutheran at the tender age of 34. How that happened is a long story, so I’ll share that another time. I have been wife to Rick, my partner and best friend for 34 years. He has a business in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and will be there throughout the work week. He will be joining me here in Maryland on the weekends.

Three wonderful, grown children call me mom, Matthew, age 33, Kati, age 31, and Ruth, age 27. They are all married to people whom we cherish as part of our family. I am Nana to three brilliant and very beautiful grandchildren, Anna, age 5, Eli, age 2, and Ethan age 1. We love being grandparents! You have the all the fun of being related to the children with none of the responsibility. We have two dogs; Jackson is a golden retriever and we are not sure of Daisy’s parentage. I wish I could say that the dogs are brilliant also, but they are good companions, and are our jesters. We have three cats, two of whom will be my room mates in my apartment in North Beach. I love to garden, quilt, and read, and walk for exercise and enjoyment. In my former life I worked in a pediatric dental practice as a dental health educator and chair side assistant. I was an active volunteer in the Girl Scouts for many years, and I have been active in youth ministry both at the congregational and synodical levels.

One of my very fondest joys in ministry is the opportunity to get to know God’s people, to hear their stories and discover and celebrate gifts and graces given them by our Lord. I look forward to our life together using our varied gifts as the baptized people of God, worshiping, learning, playing, and working together in God’s vineyards in and around Calvert County in the coming year.

Your Sister in Christ,

Vicar Patti