Today in the Mission Yearbook - The ordination of one who was once ‘crushed, traumatized, and very, very alone’

The Presbytery of Ohio Valley ordains Jerusha Van Camp to a validated ministry serving small churches in southern Indiana

November 3, 2024

The Rev. Jerusha Van Camp sits in a pew of the church that 

gave her hope, First Presbyterian Church in Evansville, Indiana. 

On Saturday, the Presbytery of Ohio Valley ordained Van Camp 

to a validated ministry serving small churches in southern Indiana. 

(Photo by Rachel Mathew Photography)

Near the end of her joyous and Spirit-filled ordination service, the now-Rev. Jerusha Van Camp stood in front of the many friends and family gathered at First Presbyterian Church in Evansville, Indiana, recently and told them, “Your presence surrounds me with love.”

“About 14 years ago, I walked into this church building for the first time. I was crushed, traumatized and very, very alone. I was giving church one last chance. If I couldn’t find welcome and sanctuary, I was fully prepared to walk away from God and never come back,” Van Camp said. “I found welcome here, a place where I was loved for all my humanity, not just some parts of it,” said Van Camp, a gay woman whose wife, Kathryn, and their children Judah, Jesse and Micaiah were seated at the front of the sanctuary.

“This church was Jesus to me,” regardless of her sexual orientation, she told those celebrating her ordination. “I was gathered in, and I was loved to wholeness. I have learned that God is good, and the gospel of Jesus Christ really is for all people, without exception. To be standing here today is something of a miracle, for which I am grateful.”

Van Camp was ordained by the Presbytery of Ohio Valley. Watch the 100-minute service here.

A recent graduate of the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, Van Camp is now one of three pastors validated by the Presbytery of Ohio Valley for pulpit supply, sacraments and church governance.

For Van Camp’s ordination, the Rev. Susan McGhee, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of Ohio Valley, preached a sermon called “The One Thing that is in All Things,” based on Luke 10:38–42, Luke’s account of Jesus visiting sisters Mary and  Martha.

The Rev. Tony Larson, Co-Moderator of the 226th General 

Assembly and the Rev. Jerusha Van Camp preside at the 

Communion Table during Van Camp’s ordination. (Photo by 

Rachel Mathew Photography)

“Martha prepares for the multitudes and Mary takes a seat, and yet it’s Martha Jesus chastises,” McGhee said. “I can imagine it might have been painful for Martha to hear those words. She was doing what she was brought up to do.”

As McGhee pointed out, Jesus “doesn’t chastise Martha for working, but for being distracted by her many tasks. Jesus lifts up Mary’s example to show her the one thing that is in all things, the one thing in which all of our roles find meaning.”

“The one thing Mary has is what she gives to Jesus: her loving and willing attention,” McGhee said.

While participating in a youth ministry and spirituality project some years ago, McGhee learned about distinctions among “one thing,” “everything” and “some things.”

“One thing is paying attention, being present in the moment,” McGhee said. “Jerusha will have to do that as she travels from church to church.”

“Everything” is part of the job description of people who serve God, “walking, doing dishes, playing with children, writing, singing and looking up at the stars,” McGhee said. “The Mary in us could just as easily got up and cooked” but “Jesus doesn’t want to put an end to Martha’s homemade noodles or famous apple pie. Jesus wants to relieve her of her distractions, her anxieties. … Paying attention is the one thing we can do in all the things we do.”

Finally, the “some things,” or “some particular ways the church attends to the presence of God,” through worship, communion, the study of Scriptures and the giving of gifts. Today is one of those ‘some things,’” McGhee said, “as the Presbytery of Ohio Valley gathers to ordain Jerusha, who offers herself in new ways to the One who holds nothing back, to the church of Jesus Christ, through her energy, intelligence, imagination and love.”

“Pay attention” when it came time for Van Camp to answer the Constitutional Questions, McGhee suggested. “Pay attention and cheer her on, so that Jerusha will never forget the one thing that is in all things — her loving attention. For every moment, God is at work, and there’s nothing that God cannot redeem. She knows that, and she gives herself to that today. Pay attention to the call of God in your life,” McGhee told those gathered, “and to every waking moment.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service

Today’s Focus: Presbytery of Ohio Valley ordains Jerusha Van Camp

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff

Donald A. Walker, III, Executive Vice President & Chief Investment Officer, Board of Pensions 
Jacklyn Walker, Mission Specialist I, World Mission’s Director’s Office, Presbyterian Mission Agency 

Let us pray

Loving Christ, you have loved and welcomed many people to be your disciples, and you have called us to welcome one another and even strangers. On this day, help us to welcome those you love in your everlasting love. Amen.