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“God is always providing”Debbie Kelly receives Margaret R. and Timothy R. Schoewe Scholarshipby Jan BodenIt was Debbie Kelly’s oldest son who first told herthat she should be a pastor. “That started my questionsand discernment,” she says. Debbie is a middlerin the M.Div. program who commutes twohours each way to LSTC. She is also the recipient ofthe Margaret R. and Timothy R. Schoewe Scholarshipawarded to a second-career student.“The commute is okay,” the former school busdriversays. “It gives me time to reflect on what I’velearned that day. I shut off the radio and spendsome quiet time with God.”Debbie KellyDebbie and her family began attending an ELCAcongregation about seven years ago. Before that,they were active members of Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod congregations. Deb taught Sundayschool for 15 years, but often had a sense of wantingto do something more.“One Sunday, a woman pastor showed up tosubstitute for our regular pastor. I was stunned! Ihadn’t realized that we were part of a church thatordained women. I didn’t hear much of the sermonthat day, I was so shocked.” Since then, shehas become friends with that pastor, Becca Gordon(2002, M.Div.). Over time, Deb realized that God wascalling her to ministry in the church.“God was calling me through the people andcircumstances in my life and at each obstacle, therewas an answer,” she says.Debbie Kelly is an ideal recipient of the MargaretR. and Timothy R. Schoewe Scholarship. Margaretreceived her master of divinity degree in 2002 andserves as associate pastor of St. Matthew’s LutheranChurch in Wawatosa, Wis. She came to seminaryafter a career in business. The Schoewes understandthe sacrifices families make so one member cananswer a call to rostered ministry.In a 2010 interview, Pastor Schoewe said, “Thegift we made to LSTC was really born out of thegift that I received in the form of education atLSTC. I have a desire to help other people havethat experience.”To reduce the number of days she commutes,Debbie has tried to take at least one class onlineeach semester. She says, “This is great for commuterstudents, but it is hard to be part of campus lifewhen you commute. I miss out on study groupsand just getting to know people. Our class has aFacebook page and that helps me stay connected.”Attending seminary is a huge sacrifice of timeand money. “My family has been very supportive.When I talked this over with my husband he said,‘It’s a great idea,’ and my youngest, an 8th grader,thought it was cool that his mom was going back toschool, even if she does freak out over Greek!”The sacrifices are real for the Kelly family. “Mygoal was to take 10 classes this year, but affordingthat dream is difficult,” Deb says. “I’m not sure howall of this is going to happen, but every time there’s aproblem, it gets resolved. There are many moments ofworry over it, but God is always providing.”22