First Lutheran's Staff
Our
Pastor - Rev. Matthew Wheeler
email:
pastor@galionfirstlutheran.org
Church Secretary / Receptionist - Cindy Davis
email:
secretary@galionfirstlutheran.org
Choir Director -
Interested, contact church office.
Organists - Tammy
Hart and Betty Cocuzza
Greetings!
I am greatly looking forward to being able to
serve our Lord with you! We have an awesome God who loves us, sustains us, and
nourishes us along this journey of faith that we travel on together. Christ is
with us – every step of the way. The seeds of the Gospel are being
planted within our hearts at each turn of each day. I am eager to see what will
grow!
Let me tell you a few things about myself. I am a native
of northwest Ohio. I was born and raised in a small farm town called Monclova,
Ohio. I graduated from the University of Toledo in the Spring of 2003 with a
Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering. I started up seminary in the Fall of
2003 and graduated with my Master of Divinity in June from Trinity Lutheran
Seminary in Columbus. I was ordained July 14th at Holy Trinity
Lutheran Church in Toledo (my home church) and am to be installed at First
Lutheran Church on August 5th. (Phwew! Get all that?)
My call into ministry is nothing vastly unusual. It’s just
that God “happened.” Once God “happens,” you’re never really the same. I began
to hear a whisper in my heart during my college years at Toledo. I began to
pray about ministry as a vocation. I began to talk about the possibility of
ministry with family and with friends. I began to recall moments from when I
was younger when people told me I would “make a good pastor one day.” (Those
comments used to scare the tar out of me, too!) And the truth is, God loved me
into this vocation. He wouldn’t let go. He won’t let go.
And that promise of God never letting go certainly goes
for you, too. God will not let go of you. He loves you too much. This promise
is not an invitation to boundary-less, unaccountable lives. This promise is an
invitation into real life. Real freedom. Real hope. Real grace. Real love. I
am thrilled to be serving our Lord with you! Many blessings to you for the road
ahead!
God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Matt Wheeler
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Cindy Davis, our secretary and receptionist, is the
smiling person with the smiling voice who will greet you in the office or answer
your call. She helps keep the wheels moving in our busy congregation!
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