Editor’s note: This is the final in a series of four articles profiling female pastors in the city of Shawano. The women say they have an ecumenical relationship, getting together whenever they can to give each other support and friendship in their ministries. Today’s pastor is Gisele Berninghaus of Zion Lutheran Church.
Q When did you know you wanted to be a minister?
A “I grew up in a Lutheran pastor’s family but in a tradition that does not ordain women. Following graduation from college, I worked as a teacher with the deaf and volunteered to interpret worship in a Lutheran congregation. My plan was to attend graduate school to become a counselor with the deaf. I was delighted when I received acceptance into Gallaudet University’s graduate program, and shared that information with the church staff. The pastor suggested that, rather than go to graduate school, I would attend seminary in order to become a pastor with the deaf instead of interpreting another person’s sermon. My response was to laugh; that was not my plan. I knew too much about the life of a pastor. I was amazed at my own thoughts and how frequently I continued to wonder about the idea of actually becoming a pastor. Within six months, I was accepted into the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, Penn.”
Q What was your path to where you are now?
A “I was ordained in 1986 and have served congregations in Maryland, Maine, Illinois and in ecumenical deaf ministry here in Wisconsin. I have taken additional training for Intentional Interim Ministry and serve in that capacity at Zion Lutheran Church, assisting the congregation to move through the transition following a long-term pastorate.”
Q How have you been received as a female pastor?
A “During my 27 years in ordained ministry, I have grown accustomed to questions and comments about female clergy, most of them simply curious or surprised. In one situation, a congregation was divided in their decision to call me and I asked them to refrain from calling me if the issue was my gender, since I could not do anything to change my gender nor did I want to. The congregation had a second vote and decided unanimously to call me. It was not until more than five years later when I was leaving the congregation to take time to stay home with my newborn that one of the members told me he had originally been against calling a woman. This man had been one of the most generous persons in the congregation, volunteering his time and talent to share Christ’s love. In my experience, folks most often have simply needed the opportunity to see God at work in a new way, a way they may not have expected, and to experience new insight and possibility. God brings about interesting things, and I have been blessed to serve in a way that at one time I was certain I would never want or be able to do.”
Q What are your plans for the future?
A “My plans for the future are to continue praying for God’s guidance. I enjoy variety and challenge and God has given me plenty of that and I am thankful.”
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