But she couldn’t shake that deep feeling of peace. She didn’t think there was any way she could go to seminary. “That morning I got in the car and I turned on the radio and the first song I heard were the words ‘Sometimes your calling comes in dreams.’ Of course, then it was: ‘Oh my goodness, this really happened.’ I had to pull over to the side of the road.”Īt that point, she was a single parent with a daughter in college. “When I woke up, all I knew was I felt totally different and completely at peace,” Gallagher said.

Lying in bed, she distinctly perceived the words of what was then Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind. The journey to her living room began late one night in 2009. I did not feel like I was sitting alone with my husband in my living room at all.” “The time together was deeply personal and intimate. “One wouldn’t think Zoom would be a very intimate or spiritual platform, but the Spirit’s presence was palpable through the whole thing,” she said. It is believed to be the first online ordination in Mennonite Church USA.ĭan Gallagher places an ordination stole on the shoulders of Community Mennonite Fellowship Pastor Janette Lyndaker Gallagher on May 17 at their home during an online ordination service. Rather than take place where she is pastor at Community Mennonite Fellowship in Corning, N.Y., the May 17 service occurred on the Zoom videoconferencing platform due to COVID-19 pandemic distancing precautions. In the United States, First Nation has been granted tax-exempt, not-for-profit status by the Internal Revenue Service, and meets all legal qualifications under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(a) as a religious organization as described in Section 501(c)(3), and as a church as described in Section 170(b)(1)(A)(i).Physical distance didn’t matter when Janette Lyndaker Gallagher took classes for her divinity degree with Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, and the same was true for her ordination in May. Including on websites and/or social media apps or sites, without the prior written permission of First Nation Church and Ministry. Images appearing on this page are protected by copyright, and may not be copied, reproduced or displayed in any manner or by any method, 'Civil Officiant' are protected international trademarks and service marks of First Nation Church and Ministry, and may not be used in any manner without prior written consent. 'First National Marriage Ministry,' 'We Celebrate Love,' 'The Officiant Academy,' 'The Official Church of Love,' 'Home of the Worry-Free Wedding,' 'Celebrate Love. Copyright © 1991-2023 First Nation Church and Ministry.

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