Brandon Twp.- After 10 years as the pastor of Seymour Lake United Methodist Church, the longest-serving full-time pastor in the church’s 135-year history is moving on.
Debbie Line, who has helmed the church located at the corner of Seymour Lake and Sashabaw roads since her appointment in 1999, will give her last sermon there on June 21. On July 1, she starts her new appointment as pastor of the Davison United Methodist Church.
‘It will be difficult to leave here,? said Line. ‘We’ve been together a long time. That’s why we’ll cry a lot. But I’m excited to see what God will have me do there. I like new challenges, and ultimately I’m doing what God wants me to do.?
Line first heard a call from God to come into a deeper relationship with Him when she was in her 20s and the married mother of two young children. She had come from a dysfunctional family and had very low self-esteem, but said a journey of healing began when she came to know Christ.
‘I told Him, when my kids are grown and gone, you can have me for whatever you want, but at that time, I was concentrating on being a wife and mom.?
In 1992, Line’s son, David, joined the Army and her daughter, Heather, married a Navy man and moved to Connecticut. In October, Line’s husband left her.
‘I was alone for the first time in my life,? she recalls. ‘I never thought I would be a minister, but I went deeper in my faith and reluctantly answered my call.?
In 1993, at 40-years-old, Line moved to Wilmore, Ky., where she attended Asbury College for three years and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She then earned her seminary degree from Asbury Theological Seminary and arrived at her first, and to this point only, appointment at SLUMC.
She was nervous as she drove to meet members of the congregation at a welcome potluck in July 1999. She remembers thinking that while the people would know her as ‘Pastor,? she still only thought of herself as ‘Debbie.? She contemplated just continuing down the road, but turned into the parking lot and found a warm reception.
Not everyone was quite so sure about the new pastor? she found some resistance from those members who weren’t excited about having a female minister.
‘It’s hard for some people and others won’t come here because of it,? she said. ‘When I was called, I said to God, ‘Did you forget I’m a girl?? But I studied it extensively in school and you really have to look at the big picture in the Bible. There is Scripture against women leading in the church, but there is also Scripture that supports it. My Greek professor told me, ‘There are places where you won’t be accepted, but God will take you to the places where He will minister through you? and He has done just that.?
Over the past decade, the congregation of SLUMC has increased from about 100 to roughly 215 members. Line has seen the expansion of the church through the building of the Worship Fellowship Center in March 2002. She has presided over what she estimates to be 20 weddings and 30-50 baptisms. Besides celebrating the good times, she is there to comfort her parishioners in their time of struggle? helping them through illness, faith searches, and loss of loved ones? and calls it a privilege to be able to do so.
‘Great faith strides have been made in people’s lives,? said Line. ‘My most blessed moments are when God used me to bless others.?
In the past 10 years, Line has seen a change in religion, however, that troubles her. She encounters youth more and more with little or no church understanding in their lives.
‘When I was a kid, or even with my kids, there were a higher percentage involved in the church,? she said. ‘Now, society as a whole has a higher percentage with no church at all in their lives… I don’t know if they consider church irrelevant or if the church is not doing a good job of getting a message out that is understood by a new generation.?
But the message Line has for the community here is the same one she will take to Davison: Don’t give up on God.
‘Keep looking until you find a church family that fits,? she said. ‘We’re not perfect because people aren’t perfect. But when you find a church family that fits, it’s wonderful. You find support, faith, family, purpose, and a place to make a difference in the world.?