{"id":29949,"date":"2025-07-02T07:30:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T12:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/?p=29949"},"modified":"2025-07-02T13:38:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T18:38:57","slug":"wendy-farone-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wendy-farone-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Opening A New Chapter\u2014A Second-Career Student&#8217;s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Just as she reached retirement, Wendy Farone, Ph.D., discovered a call to something new. She hesitated to pursue it at first, thinking to herself, \u201cI\u2019m retired! I\u2019m 65; many pastors are retiring from ministry at this age, and I\u2019d be just moving in.\u201d Wendy\u2019s pastor, however, reminded her that \u201cGod doesn\u2019t call you because you\u2019re young; He calls you because you\u2019re a child of God and to share the ministry.\u201d Eventually, she came around, saying, \u201cI always laugh and think, \u2018You know what? Jesus did His ministry in three years. I suppose if I\u2019ve got three years, I\u2019m right there with Him.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wendy Farone Student Experience\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_vk-hiVz2g8?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/www.pts.edu\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2>A New Chapter<\/h2>\n<p>To respond to the call, Wendy filled in an application to study at PTS. \u201cI thought, \u2018OK, I\u2019ll start seminary and I\u2019ll just do the certificate of theology \u2013 I\u2019ll get a better feel for things, and maybe we\u2019ll call that good.\u2019 Then I thought, \u2018Oh no, I don\u2019t feel as if I know enough about this yet.\u2019 So I switched to the two-year Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies. But in that next year, I still felt I was called further. So, finally, I enrolled in the M.Div. program.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wendy\u2019s willingness to try something new helped her refine a general sense of call to a more specific form of ministry. \u201cWhen I was searching for a Field Education placement, my assistant bishop kept saying to me, \u2018Alright, here&#8217;s your thing!\u2019 And I said, \u2018Well, I don&#8217;t really know, but I don&#8217;t want to run a church.\u201d But once Wendy decided to give a pastoral internship a try, she found a fit and discovered a sense of purpose in a way she hadn\u2019t expected. \u201cI fell in love with the people in this role, and I thought, \u2018You know, I think this is what I&#8217;m truly called to do.\u2019 And my bishop laughs and says, \u2018Yeah, we knew.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>A Welcoming Learning Community<\/h2>\n<p>Why PTS? Wendy says she felt welcomed by the community in a number of ways, including age diversity, denominational diversity, and supportive relationships with members of the faculty.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_29999\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29999\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-29999\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CAT_8130-004-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CAT_8130-004-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CAT_8130-004-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CAT_8130-004-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CAT_8130-004-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CAT_8130-004-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CAT_8130-004-850x567.jpg 850w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-29999\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Donna Giver-Johnston, director of the Doctor of Ministry program, and D.Min. students gathered in the outdoor courtyard on campus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI love the idea that there are a multitude of denominational, and some non-denominational, folks there, and the seminary meets their needs individually. It&#8217;s really important, I think, that folks understand that just because it&#8217;s a Presbyterian seminary, doesn&#8217;t mean you have to be Presbyterian to go there. I was raised Lutheran, and I\u2019m still a Lutheran. Whatever your denominational background, you will be fed for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnother thing that really strikes me about PTS was that I didn&#8217;t just see young faces. There were many folks who were there for different reasons and different aspects of their lives. I was welcomed with open arms. The student-teacher relationship felt like a peer relationship\u2014I felt like I was seeking, and the professors\u2019 guidance that I got was, \u2018Oh, yeah, this is tough. So, hang in there.\u2019 \u2018Let me help explain that to you.\u2019 Whether you\u2019re a person in midlife or a younger person just out of undergrad, we&#8217;re all just learners of the Word. I just feel very at home here.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>A Calling Which Integrates Personal Identity<\/h2>\n<p>As a person in her 60s, Wendy was not interested in \u201cstarting over.\u201d A second career, much less attending seminary, was not on her radar. \u201cFor a long time, I keep saying to folks, \u2018I&#8217;m retired. I&#8217;m happily retired. <em>Retired.<\/em>\u201d But once she decided to follow the call, she found that ministry is a field which does not demand \u201cstarting from scratch.\u201d She discovered that her passions, expertise, and skills developed in her first career not only integrated into her ministry but elevated it as she offered her unique self to serve the Lord. \u201cI&#8217;m discovering that the way I preach makes sense to the hearers. I came from a 30-year education background, so my whole goal is to help people further their understanding, and I can make things understandable to others. So when I preach, I bring the Scripture to life, and I bring attention to stories (Jesus was a storyteller, after all). I apply things that I learned in my education career to my ministry vocation.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>A Refreshed Perspective, A Deepened Faith, and Treasured Relationships<\/h2>\n<p>When asked what she is taking away from her seminary experience, Wendy names depth of knowledge about scripture, new energy for ministry, and a clarified perspective on what it means to be \u201cGod\u2019s hands\u201d in the world.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_29955\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29955\" style=\"width: 223px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-29955 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-299-scaled-e1751386331784-228x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"223\" height=\"294\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-299-scaled-e1751386331784-228x300.jpg 228w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-299-scaled-e1751386331784-780x1024.jpg 780w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-299-scaled-e1751386331784-768x1008.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-299-scaled-e1751386331784-1170x1536.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-299-scaled-e1751386331784-1560x2048.jpg 1560w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-299-scaled-e1751386331784-300x394.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-299-scaled-e1751386331784-850x1116.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-299-scaled-e1751386331784.jpg 1706w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 223px) 100vw, 223px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-29955\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Doctor of Ministry students greet one another after a PTS chapel service, where students, faculty, and staff gather together for worship<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI needed to learn to see the world \u2018through the eyes of Christ\u2019 rather than \u2018through the eyes of Wendy.\u2019 A very Lutheran phrase is &#8216;God&#8217;s work. Our hands.&#8217; We use our hands to do God&#8217;s work. We all know we&#8217;re wonderful inside the church, but when life occurs \u2018out there,\u2019 how do you respond? And I don&#8217;t mean activism; that&#8217;s not my gig. My call is to have your Christ-like spirit travel with you wherever you go. Things like opening doors for people, or when somebody says something nasty to you, not saying something nasty or sarcastic back. It&#8217;s creating human beings being human in a world that is filled with sin. So that being the case, I don&#8217;t have to stand on a pulpit outside and scream about people who don&#8217;t think like I do or think like my church does. But my call is to love people by saying, \u2018This world is just as beautiful when you look through the eyes of Christ.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_29974\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29974\" style=\"width: 264px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-29974 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-313-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"264\" height=\"176\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-313-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-313-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-313-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-313-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-313-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CatedralCollectivePTS2025-313-850x567.jpg 850w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 264px) 100vw, 264px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-29974\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Master&#8217;s students Scott Stolte and John Anderson attend class<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe journey through seminary\u2014little by little, course by course, experience by experience\u2014also allowed me to recognize what Scripture meant in real time. Like, \u2018What&#8217;s it mean to me now?\u2019 And, \u2018Oh, that was out of context when it was embroidered on a pillow.\u2019 Learning the Bible\u2019s \u2018vocabulary\u2019\u2014metaphor, simile, references\u2014helped me lean into the to the Christian tradition from a biblical perspective. For me it was eye opening, because I&#8217;ve attempted to read the Bible a lot of times, and I&#8217;ll just tell you, it is tough. Sorting it out on your own is an impossibility, I think\u2014at least, it was for me. The tradition is pretty clear that God is inexhaustible, the Bible is living, and, even aside from that, I\u2019m never going to have loving my neighbors fully figured out either. The learning is perpetual; I can\u2019t retire from it.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_29963\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29963\" style=\"width: 372px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-29963\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/420550217_10107964241398534_3164907230030356411_n-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"372\" height=\"279\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/420550217_10107964241398534_3164907230030356411_n-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/420550217_10107964241398534_3164907230030356411_n-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/420550217_10107964241398534_3164907230030356411_n-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/420550217_10107964241398534_3164907230030356411_n-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/420550217_10107964241398534_3164907230030356411_n-850x638.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/420550217_10107964241398534_3164907230030356411_n.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 372px) 100vw, 372px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-29963\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wendy traveled with a group of students to Kentucky for an Intercultural Learning Experience through the Seminary&#8217;s World Mission Initiative<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Wendy says she also treasures the lifelong relationships she forged in her time at PTS. \u201cSomething else that was really revelatory was mission trips. Our seminary is one of the few that has that requirement. My group ended up going to Appalachia, and we got snowed in for two days! It was incredibly wonderful. I\u2019ll probably have lifelong friendships with some of the folks who were on that trip and some who we met when we were down there. We spoke to people who&#8217;d lived there all their lives, we saw the tragedies of the coal mine, we went down into a coal mine and felt what it was like. It wasn&#8217;t a foreign country, but it might as well have been, when you have lived in a place that looks nothing like that. That type of immersion and seeing God in the world is critically important, because, again, you can&#8217;t just sit in church and leave it there.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Living My Life Story<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_29966\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29966\" style=\"width: 269px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-29966\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Qults-at-Faith-300x249.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"269\" height=\"223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Qults-at-Faith-300x249.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Qults-at-Faith.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 269px) 100vw, 269px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-29966\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Quilts at Faith Lutheran Church, where Wendy now serves as vicar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Now happily looking forward to more time in ministry, Wendy laughs fondly about the surprising journey God has taken her on. \u201cWho knew? I&#8217;m telling you, if you told me this, nine, 10 years ago, I would have said, \u2018That&#8217;s not happening.\u2019 And now I&#8217;m like, \u2018Oh, yeah, give me more.\u2019 That&#8217;s how it is with God. No matter what age or position you&#8217;re in or what stage of life, if you are called and choose to answer that call, you will do what you&#8217;re charged to do in this world. Everyone has their story, and the beautiful thing is you can share that story and live into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Next Steps<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you are interested in exploring your call, we invite you to join us at PTS!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/How_to_Apply\">Begin your application<\/a> (apply by July 15 to begin in September)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/Request_Info\">Request information about studying at PTS<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/find-your-program\">Browse distance learning and residential degree and certificate programs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-29950 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Wendy-Farone-scaled-e1751384339804-300x219.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Wendy-Farone-scaled-e1751384339804-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Wendy-Farone-scaled-e1751384339804-1024x748.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Wendy-Farone-scaled-e1751384339804-768x561.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Wendy-Farone-scaled-e1751384339804-1536x1121.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Wendy-Farone-scaled-e1751384339804-2048x1495.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Wendy-Farone-scaled-e1751384339804-850x621.jpg 850w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Dr. Wendy Farone &#8217;21\/&#8217;25 is the vicar of Faith Lutheran Church (White Oak, Pa.). Before attending seminary, Wendy had a 30-year career in literacy education, including 12 years as an elementary classroom teacher and Title 1 reading specialist. She served for 18 years as an educational consultant with the PA Training &amp; Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN), where she was the Western PA regional lead in literacy, and for 10 years as a private, nationwide trainer, training other educators in an evidence-based approach to teaching reading, spelling, and writing. In 2023, she provided testimony advocating for evidence-based literacy instruction before the Pennsylvania Senate. She holds an M.Div. from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in reading teacher education from Walden University, as well as LETRS and DIBELS certifications.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/Admissions\">Apply now and start your journey at PTS!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just as she reached retirement, Wendy Farone, Ph.D., discovered a call to something new. She hesitated to pursue it at first, thinking to herself, \u201cI\u2019m retired! I\u2019m 65; many pastors are retiring from ministry at this age, and I\u2019d be just moving in.\u201d Wendy\u2019s pastor, however, reminded her that \u201cGod doesn\u2019t call you because you\u2019re&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":29954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[398],"tags":[10,837,11,839,838,840,834,651,836,835,841],"series":[],"class_list":["post-29949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people-of-pts","tag-call-to-ministry","tag-call-to-pastor","tag-call-to-seminary","tag-discerning-call","tag-discerning-vocation","tag-discovering-call","tag-ministry-in-retirement","tag-second-career","tag-second-career-minister","tag-second-career-student","tag-vocational-discernment"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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