Beside an illuminated crimson and gold cross, Margie Osborn stood in silence, covered in hands.
Her head was bowed, her eyes were closed and her lips were curved into a slight, but steadfast smile.
All around her, friends, family and parishioners reached out, covering the 54-year-old woman's shoulders, back and arms with their grip. Just minutes before, she had pledged to serve them with "energy, intelligence, imagination and love."
On Sunday afternoon, members of the Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 1315 Abbott Road, ordained Osborn as their pastor.
For Osborn and the congregation, the ceremony marked many new beginnings.
It is Osborn's first time as a head pastor. It is the church's first female pastor. Osborn, who served as an associate pastor at a church in Port Huron for about eight years, had found a new home.
The State News sat down with Osborn to talk about her faith, her new position and the role of women in the church.
The State News: When did you realize that you had received the calling to become a pastor?
Margie Osborn: I started filling in at a church in Battle Creek. I was teaching classes and things like that.
I was in a leadership role in the church. It wasn't any lightning bolt thing.
It was just more of a growing faith and a sense that people trusted me and wanted me to do this. It was a 7-year awakening.
SN: Why did you wait so long before becoming a pastor?
MO: It was a distance thing. We lived far away from the seminary. I had a couple of kids in high school. It just didn't seem practical.
SN: How has it made you feel since you became a minister?
MO: I feel incredibly vibrant and alive. Now it's exciting to know that I'm meeting a whole different group of God's people.
SN: Have you ever faced any challenges because you're a woman minister?
MO: Not in the Presbyterian church. The church has been ordaining women since 1956. But still, there is a stained glass ceiling - that's what we call it. Women are not yet called to lead a lot of larger churches.
SN: But do you ever get any strange reactions from people in the community?
MO: The people that come up to you are the people that are excited about a woman in the ministry. They tell me how refreshing it is.
Presbyterians don't associate God as a male. There is more to the story behind the story than what is written in the Bible. Jesus was constantly affirming women.
SN: Do you offer something to your congregation that a man couldn't?
MO: Not really, other than what it's like to be a mother (laughter).
No, not really. It all depends on what their pastoral skills are. At the same time, people tell me that I'm very approachable.
I don't know if it's because of my gender or my personality. For me, it's really a nonissue.
SN: How did you arrive at this church in East Lansing?
MO: It's like you looking for a job, except to be a pastor at a church, you're probably looking for a year. There are lots of people involved. My husband said, "The next time we move, it will be for your call."
This was the only church I sent my résumé to. I e-mailed my dossier in February. Then I interviewed in May. I came and preached on Sunday in June. Then the congregation voted unanimously to call me. It's really a joy to see people embracing who you are and seeing what you can do with God together.
SN: Why did you want to come here to be a pastor?
MO: I chose this location because it's a church family. In Port Huron, we had a congregation of 580.
Here it's 250. I like to be intricately involved in their lives. And because we're here in East Lansing, by the university, it's a diverse community ethnically.
You don't find that often in the Protestant tradition. A lot of small churches are struggling, but this one isn't.
SN: What is your take on the overall health of organized religion in the United States?
MO: Mainline congregations are all declining in membership. It's upsetting. There was a cultural shift that happened with the Vietnam War. A lot of baby boomers were disenchanted with all institutions. But now, as a Christian pastor, I've realized that you can't be a Christian alone.
SN: Do you think it will change?
MO: Things have a way of ebbing and flowing from generation to generation.
In a way, a generation goes away from (organized religion) for the next generation to enjoy it.
SN: Are there a lot of students that go to this church?
MO: We have a few right now. There are a few that started a group called AGAPE (Affirming Group of Adult Presbyterians at Eastminster). They're just trying to get this group together. They've been on two mission trips so far.
SN: What are some of your immediate goals at Eastminster?
MO: Initially, I'm really going to be listening to the congregation - our history and where we'd like to go.
I'd like our church to be a place where busy college students could find ways to serve God.
