Greetings to all. Permit me to introduce myself.

I was born in Pennsylvania, the oldest of seven children. In high school I majored in sports. After school and summers, I worked many hours on my grandfather and Uncle’s dairy farms. After high school, I attended and graduated from Mansfield State College with a BA in Criminal Justice Administration. A year’s labor in a county prison (as a guard, not an inmate) convinced me to join the US Navy as an Officer and sail the Pacific and Indian seas.

I met my lovely wife Frances in Alameda, California, and we will soon celebrate our 41st wedding anniversary.

We married in a Lutheran church and stayed Lutheran, Frances a semi-retired Catholic and me, a waylaid Baptist/Methodist agnostic. God drew us to Him through time and trial and we are eternally grateful.

Armed with a law degree, I handled private and public liability claims for 30+ years, but always with an interest in the ministry. Two years ago, I ‘dipped my toe in the water’ by taking a seminary course in the North American Lutheran Seminary (NALS), located in Ambridge, Pennsylvania (using the wonder of zoom). Gradually I sensed a calling. Still in seminary, I find myself working as a Lay Pastor in this beautiful foothill Lutheran church. The calling continues to grow.

My hope is for ordination into the Lutheran ministry soon. In the meantime, I embrace the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) calling according to our Lord’s last words on earth: “Go forth and make disciples.”

New Hope is a family, a family of faith believers. We follow the four core values of the NALC and our love for our triune God and for each other continues to grow and develop.

We would be pleased if you joined us.

• Craig Wheaton,

Lay Pastor, New Hope Lutheran Church