All People

Patrick Preacher grew up in a church that spoke a clear message: “All gay people are sinners going to hell.” When Patrick reached puberty and began to understand his sexuality, he realized they meant him. “We left that church and I never went back.”

Patrick may have left that church, but God did not leave Patrick. Years later, in Greenville, South Carolina, Patrick and his partner, now husband, found a very different kind of church at Trinity Lutheran Church. There, they encountered a congregation that boldly proclaimed God’s love for all people. Through Trinity, Patrick began ministering to people who had experienced rejection from the church. As Trinity’s Queer and Justice Ministry Coordinator, he helped create a place where people could experience community, faith and the Gospel. That work eventually led him to Wartburg Seminary through its collaborative learning program.

“Wartburg taught me how to be Lutheran,” Patrick shared. When he arrived at Wartburg, he didn’t know anything about the theology of the cross. As he learned more, though, he began to recognize it in his own story. “The reality is that I lived it.”

Patrick’s ministry at Trinity has given him a unique perspective on his seminary education. He is able to take what he learns in the classroom and immediately see how it connects to the people and community he serves. His work includes guiding programming for the LGBTQ community, facilitating and preaching at a queer-led worship service, and expanding the ministry into children’s programming. He serves in a conservative context, which has challenged him to think deeply about what it means to share the Gospel and create space for people who have often felt pushed out of the church.

At Wartburg, Patrick is also surrounded by classmates serving in very different contexts. One friend works in prison ministry in San Francisco. Others come from urban ministry, rural ministry and other communities with their own unique needs and challenges. Through those relationships, Patrick has been able to see that there is no single way to experience ministry or understand the theology of the cross. “Each person experiences the theology of the cross differently,” he said. Learning alongside people serving in different places has helped Patrick better understand his own calling and the people God has placed in his path.

Patrick graduated from Wartburg Seminary in May, prepared to serve God’s church. Along the way, he has also gained a clearer understanding of what he is called to do and what he is not. “I’ve learned that I am not called to be savior for all queer people who have been hurt. I can share the Gospel in a way that pulls them to Christ.”

That is part of what makes theological education so important. Seminary is not simply about preparing someone to preach a sermon or lead a congregation. It is about preparing leaders to listen, to understand the communities they serve, to wrestle with difficult questions and to recognize where God is already at work. Patrick’s experience at Wartburg has equipped him to bring his own story, his gifts and his experiences into ministry while learning from others who are answering God’s call in places very different from his own.

And Patrick’s story is also a reminder of the impact generosity can have on the church. Donor generosity covers half of Wartburg Seminary’s annual costs. Tuition is $21,400, while the actual cost of educating a full-time student is $55,000. The difference is made possible by people who believe that preparing faithful, thoughtful and compassionate leaders for the church matters.

Because of that generosity, students like Patrick have the opportunity to learn, grow and discover how God is calling them to serve. Patrick once heard a message that told him he did not belong in the church. Through Trinity and Wartburg, he encountered a different message: that God’s love reaches all people, and that there is a place for his gifts and his calling in God’s church.

We are grateful for the generosity of everyone who helps make that possible.