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Highlighting Inspiring Women: She chases her dream

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Pastor Pam Reinig

 

Throughout March, which is Women’s History Month, the North Iowa Times-Clayton County Register will again publish a series of articles highlighting local women. Whether it’s through their careers, hobbies, volunteer efforts or unique personalities, these women have become an inspiration to others.

 


 

By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

 

Life has a way of leading you exactly where you need to be. Just ask Pam Reinig. Around 10 years ago, after a long-time career in journalism and marketing, she became a pastor—forging a new journey of personal fulfillment that’s allowed her to connect with people not just through words but actions.

 

“There was a serious self conversation,” recalled Pam. “I had been doing what I had been doing, mostly journalism, for 30 years.”

 

A Cedar Rapids native, Pam started at The Gazette at 16, working evenings and weekends answering the main switchboard, transferring calls and taking messages. At age 20, unhappy with college, she applied for a job in the “Social News for Women” department, a section of the paper that included articles about weddings, engagements, anniversaries and, occasionally, food and cooking.

 

“I got that job and just stayed and grew. ‘Social News for Women’ became ‘Family Features’ and then ‘Lifestyles.’ When I left the paper after 20 years, I was the assistant managing editor,” she said.

 

Pam’s next venture was at Coe College, where she also finished her college degree, then she transitioned into marketing. A job opportunity eventually led her and husband Mark to the Elkader area.

 

“We both have ties to northeast Iowa,” she said. “My grandparents immigrated from Norway to Decorah, and Mark’s grandparents farmed in Elgin, right across the highway from the church I now serve. My husband’s family were some of the pioneers who started that church.”

 

Something still didn’t feel right, though.

 

“I thought, ‘Am I not happy with the job, or am I not happy with my life and what I’m doing?’” said Pam. “I knew, inside me, in a way I can’t describe, that I needed to do something else. That’s when I thought, ‘This is God’s call to me. You need to go where I told you to go 30 years ago, but you thought you knew better.’” 

 

So Pam entered a new program at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary that was launched to fill rural pulpits. Her first position was a part-time pulpit at St. John’s Congregational Church in Garber. 

 

“I loved that little church and the people there,” she shared. “I served there for awhile, but knew I couldn’t do just that. So I thought, ‘Well, I’ll go back to my roots.’” 

 

That meant a job in advertising sales at the then-Clayton County Register. Shortly after, she became the newspaper’s editor. 

 

In the meantime, her pastoral duties also increased to Illyria Community Church in Elgin. The small church began to grow and, last spring, Pam left her position at The Register to serve full time.

 

Pam described Illyria as an independent, intra-denominational church that welcomes people regardless of race, sexual orientation or any other factors.

 

“We bring into our congregation anyone who has that core value of believing in the triune God, anyone who believes in the inclusivity of our church,” she said. “I was blessed to be called to a church that was poised for and committed to growth. I have been the shepherd of a very willing, loving and supportive flock. That has enabled us to move beyond just a Sunday worship-only church to one that has two Bible studies, a monthly men’s breakfast (pre-COVID), a growing Christian ed program and a loyal online following.”

 

When she first became a pastor, Pam thought delivering a solid sermon would be the most important task each week. She quickly learned preaching was just a small part of her call. The most important component was, and continues to be, building community. 

 

Pam spends a large part of her week connecting with parishioners. Right now, that includes many phone calls and letters. 

 

“I have something called ‘Coffee with Pastor,’ which simply means I pour yet another cup of coffee and I call someone and we just talk however long we need to talk,” she said. “A lot of people still come in during office hours. I’ve had more of that since COVID because people are struggling and getting kind of COVID weary.”

 

As the pandemic subsides, Pam will also get back to more in-person visits.

 

“You need to be able to go where the people are,” she quipped.

 

In some ways, noted Pam, her journalism career prepared her to be a pastor.

 

“Journalism is about developing a relationship with sources, doing your research, asking questions, listening to answers and then writing an article to share with others, hoping it will enlighten, entertain or inform,” she explained. “Being a pastor is much the same: I develop relationships, do my research, ask questions, listen and write sermons that I hope will enlighten or inform—and sometimes even entertain. My ‘what’ isn’t different, but my ‘who’ is.”

 

Pam admitted counseling so many others, especially during a challenging period like the pandemic, can sometimes make it hard to stay hopeful. Luckily, the congregation has her back. That was evident last spring, when all services were held virtually to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Pam, missing the in-person meetings, was surprised one Sunday to find the sanctuary filled with drawings of each parishioner.

 

“Members of the congregation had gotten together and gone to the homes of every single family and had them draw a picture of themselves, even if it was on a paper bag or paper plate. One woman collected all those and put them on the pews, primarily where these people sit every Sunday. I don’t know how I made it through that first service, looking out there and seeing those crazy drawings,” Pam recalled. “As emotional as it was, that just lifts me up.”

 

Pam said what she loves most about serving God and the church is the strength it has given her to reach out and touch other people. 

 

“It is such a blessing to sit by someone who is leaving this life for the next. It is such an honor to hold a baby and baptize them, to do a wedding. There are these wonderful, uplifting, positive moments, including someone’s final moments, that enrich me,” she reflected.

 

Looking back to when she first started this new journey, that’s all Pam wanted.

 

“When I was thinking what I would do in the next part of my life, I thought, ‘I’m going to do something that will make a difference in someone’s life. Then it will be worth it,’” she said. “If you go into your next chapter with that kind of mindset, that you are going to make a difference in one life, then the life it will be is your own.” 

 

Pam, now 66, has no plans to relinquish her pastoral duties anytime soon.

 

“I came into this late, in my mid-50s, so decided I’d stay and do this as long as I can,” she said. “The church has a wonderful cemetery next to it where Mark’s family members are buried, and Mark and I will both be buried there. I joke that I will one day leave the pulpit and the next time you see me will be in the cemetery.”

 

Pam hopes her story is proof that it’s never too late to chase your dreams. When she went through the program at the University of Dubuque, 28 of the 30 people in her co-hort were over 40 and seeking a second career.

 

“I thought, when I did my seminary work, that I was too old, that I wouldn’t have time to make a difference,” she shared. “But no one should ever let that be their determining factor in chasing their dream. Go for your dreams regardless of your age, regardless of how long you have to enjoy that dream. Even if you just have a moment, it will be worth it.”

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