When God Calls, She Answers
Deacon Pam Fairley has been called to two careers.
The first calling she had was to be a nurse. The second calling was to become a vocational deacon in the Episcopal Church.
We are fortunate that Pam felt God calling her because we have the benefit of her abilities to help us.
In the Episcopal Church, a deacon’s job is to live a special ministry of servanthood and to serve all people, especially those in need. They are also charged to call people into their own ministry in the world.
“I feel that’s what I do when I dismiss the congregation at the end of church service. I send the people out into the world to love and serve the Lord, encouraging them into their own ministry,” Pam said.
She added, “We should all have our own ministry, loving and caring for God’s children and sharing God’s love with the world.”
Recently, Pam has claimed the Altar Guild as her own personal ministry. “During the pandemic, a lot of women didn’t feel safe coming back to church,” Pam said. “The Altar Guild needed some help and support to fully function in their ministry to St. Barnabas and the people here.”
Pam and her husband Forrest lived in the Cincinnati area for 26 years before moving to McKinney, Texas for Forrest’s work. While here, Pam graduated from Xavier University with a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
While in Texas, Pam decided to further develop her knowledge of ministry. She completed the four-year curriculum provided by Education for Ministry. Pam said, “That’s when I received my call to become a permanent vocational deacon.”
Education for Ministry (EfM) is a distance-learning program in theological education based upon small-group study and practice. Its purpose is to prepare Christians for leadership in ministry and to spread the Gospel.
“I would say that for me EfM was life changing,” Pam said. “It went beyond theology classes I had at Xavier and helped build my understanding of ministry for all Christians.”
One day during the pandemic, Pam and Forrest went for a long drive. They were both retired by then. “At that time, people started to evaluate their lives and what was important to them,” she said.
As they asked themselves what was important to them, it came out that they missed their Cincinnati friends and relationships. “And we desperately needed those relationships,” Pam said.
In October 2020, they put their home on the market, and by December 2020 they had moved back to Loveland.
To relax and unwind, Pam chooses the outdoors. “I like to garden and have a small spot where I plant perennials and herbs,” she said. “I also have one tomato plant and one pepper plant.”
During the pandemic Pam started experimenting with cooking all types of different dishes. After watching Stanley Tucci and Searching for Italy, she was drawn to the four pasta dishes of Rome. “I still haven’t mastered them all,” she admits.
Current active members of the Altar Guild are Julia Buschur, Kathy Caldwell, Julie Colegrove, Mary Beth Dauner, Pam Fairley, Marcie Hammel, Kathy Kennedy, Celia Mathew, Betsy May, Susan Workman, and Maxine Yates.