Beverly Gaska started her new role as minister at Sparta United Methodist Church at the first of July. Gaska is a native of Pennsylvania and has been in the ministry for about 25 years.

Sparta United Methodist has new minister

At the beginning of the month, the Rev. Beverly "Bev" Gaska preached her first sermon from the pulpit at Sparta United Methodist Church. The native of Pennsylvania got her start in the field of ministry almost 25 years ago when she enrolled in seminary at Garrett- Evangelical in Evanston, Ill., on the campus of Northwestern University. Gaska explained after nine years of working in the field of social work, she felt it was time for her to serve the Lord in a more direct way.

"I was very active in my local church in Grand Rapids, Michigan and was given several leadership positions," Gaska remembers. "As folks saw me in those positions, they began to say to me, ‘You look awfully comfortable in the chancel area.'"

Gaska stated the Rev. Dr. Marjorie Matthews, who later became bishop, was the first clergywoman she met. She saw Matthews, along with other clergywomen, as a mentor.

"I began to think about going into ordained ministry but really wasn't ready to do it at that point," she said of the mid-'70s. "The more I was around clergywomen and saw what they were doing and the more I had leadership positions in my own church, I began to feel this was God's call for me, too. I would never really know it unless I tested it out by going to seminary, so that's what I did and it was the right decision."

After being graduated from seminary in 1985, Gaska began to serve her first appointment, the Lawton and Almena United Methodist Churches in Lawton, Mich.

To those who are of the opinion that women do not belong in leadership roles in the church, Gaska points out that "Jesus had a lot of women around Him all the time as his disciples. The women were the first at the tomb and the men didn't believe them. They were also the first to report on the resurrection. All through history, women have been leaders in the church and have been important in the church," Gaska continued. "One of the founders of Methodism, John Wesley, encouraged women in their preaching. To have women ordained is nothing new. Different denominations look at that differently." Gaska said the basis of one having a "fruitful ministry" is based on the number of lives that have been influenced, the number of individuals who have come to faith in Christ and the amount of those who have sought baptisms.

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