By Tereasa Nims
Having given his first sermon when he was 13 and his first paid sermon when he was in
college, Pastor Lonnie Wilkerson always felt called to the ministry.
Yet, it wasn’t until his children were grown that he and his wife opted to pursue that
path.
Pastor Wilkerson and his wife Jan arrived at First Congregational Church in Roscommon about seven weeks ago, but they know they want to stay a while. Despite moving around for his job as an operations manager–prior to becoming a pastor – the two have been active laymen in the churches they attended. Now the pair are becoming active in the Roscommon Village community.
“We’re getting involved in different activities. Don’t tell my parishioners, but I’m looking forward to a little snow.”
The couple moved from Iowa, noting they wanted to move closer to their three children and three grandchildren, who live in Virginia.
The couple, who met over a bad steak and then went bowling and ate pizza,
have been married for 33 years. Wilkerson was asking out another woman who misunderstood and brought her friend Jan to the date. He jokes that he knew Jan was the one because she liked him.
The past 10 years, Wilkerson has served as a full-time minister at three churches i
n Virginia and this is his fourth appointment.
Once their children were grown, Wilkerson and his wife who served as lay people in t
he churches they attended, asked themselves what they wanted to do.
“I always had the calling, I just wasn’t ready to do it,” said the operations manager who worked in purchasing for companies.
Once their children were grown, the couple was ready to take the leap. Wilkerson enrolled in seminary and spent three years practicing at the Church of Nazarene in Loudoun Valley, Virginia, where the couple attended church.
Once he was finished with seminary, Wilkerson had an opportunity to pastor a church in Culpeper, Virginia.
“There were three others before coming here,” Wilkerson said.
He said one thing important to the church is looking at where the congregation is and where they are striving to go.
“We recognize we’re doing all the right things,” the pastor said. “Going forward we’re finding where we can provide for the village.”
He said it’ a bit more difficult with a lost generation of 25 to 40-year-olds who have moved away because of jobs and the economy.
“We have to overcome the generational loss and revitalize the church so it fits newer generations as they come through,” Wilkerson said. “We want to make sure we are reaching out to everyone who believes in God. We want to tell the message of hope for the world.”
Wilkerson, who is playing Clifford the Big Red Dog in a December event, said he is not planning any major changes for the church.
“We are just getting to know the people,” Wilkerson said.
He has joined the Rotary Club, and volunteered as a volunteer chaplain with Munson Mercy in Grayling.
Jan has busied herself in the choir, Roscommon Chamber of Commerce and helping teach the children in the church.
Wilkerson said his goal is to be the village pastor.
“I would like to be the village pastor, where when someone needs someone, they know where I live and they know where I work.”
“I want to be in the village for the village,” the pastor said.
Wilkerson wants to invite everyone to the Hanging of the Greens on Nov. 27 at 11 a.m; Choir Cantata is Dec. 11 at 11 a.m.; Children’ service is Dec. 18 at 11 a.m.; Christmas Eve Service on Dec. 24 at 7p.m.; and Christmas Day service at 11 a.m. Dec. 25.
For more information about the First Congregational Church in Roscommon, visit
https://www.facebook.com/FCCRoscommon/?fref=ts
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