OSMOND — United Methodist Church will have a new face in front of the congregation this week as Rev.
Judy Carlson begins her duties as pashere on July 1. Judy grew up around Creighton and graduated from Creighton High School, and married Larry Carlson in 1997.
Judy went to seminary later in life as a second career choice, she said, having worked at the Knox County courthouse for a number of years as the deputy assessor. But before starting her journey as a pastor, and before working at the Knox County courthouse, Judy was a farm wife, living by Wausa.
Rev. Carlson had taken some classes in lay speaking, and in doing that, she could fill in for a pastor on Sunday morning.
“My career actually started here in Osmond because the pastor at that time — in 2003 — was taking care of three churches, and it was hard, on Sunday mornings to get to all three,” Rev. Carlson said. “I started helping her, doing one church while the other pastor did two, and rotating between the three.”
It wasn’t quite a year when that pastor was transferred to South Sioux City and Rev. Carlson began working in Winside as a part-time pastor. That’s when she started taking her schooling to be a full-time pastor.
She was in Winside for nine years, then she got a full-time appointment with Wausa and Randolph. She has been a pastor for 10 years in Wausa, 11 with Randolph.
She then wanted to retire, but the Randolph church still needed a parttime pastor, so she said yes.
“So that’s where I thought I was going to land,” she said, “and now Osmond has been put on my appointments.”
Ayear ago, Wausa was put in a group with six churches, which Osmond was a part of at the time. Around the middle of the year, Creighton was left without a pastor, so Carlson took on Creighton for six months. Creighton is located in the middle of those six, however, so it was a swap, she said — put Creighton in with the six, and Osmond is going to be with Randolph.
When one becomes a pastor in the Methodist Church, they agree to go where the church sends them, Rev. Carlson explained.
“It’s not a call system like some denominations have. So we are almost always guaranteed to have a job, and the church is almost always guaranteed to have a pastor. But, sometimes UNITED METHODIST WELCOMES NEW PASTOR there is some juggling that needs to happen, to make that happen,” she added. “So in other words, I don’t get to go apply at another church. I get what they think my talents and gifts would work good for.”
Since she has been in the Wausa area most of her life, and being a farm wife, she couldn’t pick up the farm and move, like a lot of pastors do, she said. So her appointments have been those that have not been otherwise filled in the area.
“Like I said, I was in Wausa for 10 years, but I wanted to go to just part time, so Wausa got put in with the group of six,” she explained.
There will be no changes to the Osmond church’s schedule. The Sunday worship will still be at 8:15 a.m. Randolph’s worship time moved from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. to account for her having enough time to get there. Other than that, she doesn’t expect there to be any other changes immediately.
“I’m very mission-minded, and like to see people working through the church with mission projects,” she said, “so we’ll kind of see how that goes.”
Rev. Carlson expects to be in Osmond on Wednesdays, preparing bulletins and getting things set up for the rest of the week. She is familiar with Osmond, having done business with several Osmond firms, and knows most of the church members, from when she worked with the church in 2003.
Judy’s husband passed away about a year and a half ago. She has three children: Laurie (Chris) Twibell of Brunswick, Larry (Amy) Young of Sioux Falls and Michelle (Gerry) Gunn of Gretna. She has seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
