staff
APRIL—JUNE
I Have Heard You Calling in the Night... An Interview with Nancy Lange by Debbie Bushfield, Executive Assistant to the Senior Pastor
What would make a successful executive at Lilly leave the work she loves, the people she loves to work with, and the career that she has found immensely rewarding, in order to take on a newly created position in her church with many unknowns? Nancy Lange has found herself in this situation over the last several weeks. She has been responsible for Global Recruiting and Nancy Lange Staffing at Lilly, which includes hiring of new employees as well as internal position movement. She supervised a staff of , and was connected to affiliates who recruit in international locations; recently, she implemented a global solution in the ten largest markets for Lilly. Although Nancy has worked in HR for the last twelve years, she was previously in manufacturing, research, regulatory, medical, sales, and procurement.
PTO for North Central High School, Kent Millard recruited her for the church’s Nominating Committee, (a natural with her background in HR) and after her youngest daughter graduated from high school, she served on the Staff Parish Relations Committee. She eventually became chair of SPRC, and by virtue of that office was on the Governing Board when they began the twoyear search process for a pastor to succeed Kent Millard. Nancy listened to more than sermons from different pastors during that time. She remembers clearly a line that struck her in one of Rob Fuquay’s sermons: “You just have to forgive people for being people.” It’s a phrase she still finds herself thinking of and using. Nancy and Tom Lange received a prestigious Inspire Award in the Education and Nonprofit category from the College Mentors for Kids in 2012 for their mentoring work at Fox Hill Elementary.
Her history at St. Luke’s reflects the same level of activity and commitment. A member here since , Nancy grew up in Indianapolis, and left to attend Purdue University. She joined Elanco (a division of Lilly), was assigned the central Indiana territory, and went church shopping. After one visit to St. Luke’s she says, “I knew I wanted to come back here.” Nancy and her husband Tom have been extremely active members. They taught Sunday School for their children’s’ classes, and Nancy trained as a Stephen Minister and was active in that role for six years. Currently she and Tom are involved in the Fox Hill Elementary program, where they serve as tutors and mentors. She enjoys the sense of purpose and satisfaction that comes when interacting directly with people. While she was President of
So what prompted this active church member and executive to change her entire life, leaving her career to serve in the church?
Pictured with the Langes are St. Luke’s member Marsha Reynolds, Director of Elementary Education, Washington Township Schools and Nikki Woodson, Superintendent, Washington Township Schools.
About years ago, Nancy and Tom read Halftime by Bob Buford. Its premise is that life can be looked at as a sports analogy. At halftime, whether they’re winning or losing, a team always goes into the locker room and plans the — —
together in ministry everyday
LANGE, cont’d from page
A Time of Renewal by Dr. Marion Miller, Pastor, Later@St. Luke’s Multicultural Service
second half of the game. She and Tom liked the idea of planning the second half of their lives. Perhaps they would have time to make it more about service to others; maybe they would become more active as mentors. They agreed that they would be open to new opportunities, and created a plan at that time to prepare for something different.
I am blessed to be the recipient of a Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Program grant, which I will use June-August 2013 as a period of sabbatical. Here’s what the program is, and what my plans are for those three months.
A few months ago, Nancy was in a discussion with Rob about the new position they needed to create. Rob was listing the necessary attributes and skills, and said above all, the person had to be someone who had a heart for the church. He said it should be someone like, “the person sitting across the table from me.” That was Nancy. For two weeks she couldn’t sleep. She kept thinking of a line from her favorite hymn, “I have heard you calling in the night.” When she told Tom what she was thinking, he immediately said, “This is your calling.” It helped her realize that perhaps all her other experiences had prepared her to do this.
What the purpose of the Clergy Renewal Program or (sabbatical)?
Nancy says St. Luke’s has provided for her through times of celebration as well as tough times, and was always supportive during her child-raising years, offering resources and experiences for her family. She is excited about helping provide those opportunities for people who aren’t even here yet. “What we do is help people find hope for themselves, and give hope to others,” she says. “Everything we do as a church contributes to this, whether it is missions, teaching, or being touched by worship.” She is glad that her work will be a part of that, and is excited about the future of St. Luke’s and what that will hold. “This is a huge coup for St. Luke’s and one unlike any I’ve experienced in my ministry,” Rob says. “I’ve known of Nancy’s great heart and passion for St. Luke’s, and have experienced her great leadership skill. Those qualities will be a dynamic duo in the position she will fill.” Nancy will be serving in an Executive Director role, overseeing the ministries and operations of the church. There are still many unknowns as to what this job will be like for her, but one thing she knows for sure is that she will answer the call, and take a step of faith at St. Luke’s. n — —
The purpose of the Clergy Renewal Program is to strengthen Christian congregations by providing an opportunity for pastors to step away briefly from the persistent obligations of daily parish life and to engage in a period of renewal and reflection. Renewal periods are not vacations, but times for intentional exploration and reflection. It is also a time for drinking again from God’s life-giving waters, regaining enthusiasm for ministry, and discovering what will make the pastor’s heart sing.
How was it is granted? The grant for the Clergy Renewal Program is offered by Lilly Endowment, which allows pastors to step back from their daily routines and gain a fresh perspective and renewed energy through a period of travel, study, rest, and/or prayer. Congregations can receive up to $50,000; those funds are used to fulfill pastoral duties during the pastor’s absence and pay for expenses related to the congregation’s own renewal.
My plans! First of all, the Clergy Renewal Program for Later@ St. Luke’s is entitled “Coast to Coast” and is based on the metaphor of running a race in ministry. It will focus on four priorities of life through rest and worship: God, Family, Church and Community. In any marathon race, aid stations along the course provide water and nutrition for the athletes who need these resources to complete a race. The four
global outreach
APRIL—JUNE
nited Methodist Women!
unteers nteers
and even lights on a tree for Christmas. The praise service that night warmed our hearts. We often wonder how those who have so little are so grateful to God. But their love for God was evident. After sleeping under nets, awakened by pigeons on the tin roof and enjoying our breakfast on Monday morning, we began seeing school children arrive. Most of them walking, a few getting a ride on a bike, they were spotlessly clean in their colorful uniforms. Suddenly we began to hear praise singing coming from the cooking room. We joined them to find women surrounding a table piled high with cooking utensils, plates, silverware, cups, pots and pans. The gift from St. Luke’s UMW had arrived! In November, the UMW Board granted a request for supplies in order to serve a hot lunch to these Haitian children. Time moves slowly in Haiti, and while it seems to take forever to get anything done, this was definitely an exception. The UMW check went to Haiti in late December and the new cooking supplies were in this remote school on January . The singing women were praising a God who always provides for their needs.
At noon we watched with smiles and tears as the little ones filled their stomachs with a plate of hot spaghetti and drank their juice in new cups. Many of them walk far to and from school and most have little food in the home beyond one meal of rice and beans a day. What a treat!
ABOVE: School children enjoying a hot lunch BELOW:
Marantha Espoir, a newly constructed Haitian school
We joined their prayer before their meal, silently thanking St. Luke’s UMW! When you support the Rummage Sale or the Bazaar, or any of the other fund raisers they sponsor, know that their profits go for missions that make a difference around the world. What a joy for St. Luke’s members to get to witness this gift! Thank you, UMW. n
“Suddenly we began to hear praise singing coming from the cooking room. We joined them to find women surrounding a table piled high with cooking utensils, plates, silverware, cups, pots and pans. The gift from St. Luke’s UMW had arrived!” — —