Pr. James M. Seeley Call Story

Project Connect Discernment Advocate – Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod

As a young child I was actively involved in the life of my congregation because that was what our family did. The first time I remember someone suggesting to me that I might consider the ministry was when I was about six years old after I had sung a solo at worship. I thought it a strange idea at the time.

At thirteen, preparing to be confirmed, my pastor spoke to the class about God calling young men (no women at that time) to the ministry. I remember talking with him about it, and wondering whether this was something God intended for me, but I wasn’t sure, and soon I put it out of my mind.

In college I had various ambitions: law, teaching, advanced study in history; but every once in a while an experience at worship would get me thinking about the ordained ministry. Again I pushed these thoughts aside.

The crisis point for me came about the middle of my junior year in college, when I realized that the time was at hand when I needed to make a decision about my life after college. This was weighing heavily on my mind, and I was praying about it. I had pretty much made up my mind that I was going on to grad school in history, and went to the Thiel library to look at grad school catalogs. I selected a stack of them for schools I was interested in, and went to my usual study spot to look them over. As I did so, I noticed a peculiar thing: somehow a catalog for Gettysburg Seminary had found its way into my stack. I thought I might as well look at it, and as I did so I had an intense sense that this was what God was calling me to do. I was more sure of it than I had ever been sure of anything, and I felt a great sense of peace.

What should I do? I decided to go and talk with the Campus Pastor, Luther Fackler, a man I knew fairly well and respected. I told him my story and he told me that it was a wonderful “coincidence” that on that very morning the assistant to the president of the Synod, Dr. Howard Riesz, was on campus meeting with people interested in seminary. The next thing I knew I was sitting with Dr. Riesz and telling him my story. He encouraged me and helped me to get into the Synod candidacy process.

When I told others what I had decided to do, I was surprised that almost everyone told me that this was what they expected I would do. In fact, one young lady told me she had always assumed I was headed for the ministry. My home pastor was pleased to hear the news and gave me considerable support and encouragement.

Well, as they say, the rest is history. Surviving the candidacy process, I went to seminary, made it through, and was ordained. God was calling me for a long time, but it took me a long time to figure it out. I doubted my gifts for ministry, but God supplied what was lacking. Thirty-one years later I’m still at it.

Project Connect is an initiative of the Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries. Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, and the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Funded by a generous grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc.