Ginny Steele, Executive Education and Volunteer
At St. Philip the Deacon since: I joined St. Philip in 1989, and it has been my church home and refuge ever since.
Faith background: I was raised Lutheran, attending church in my home town of Sedalia, MO. I got my undergraduate degree at Valparaiso University, a Lutheran college in Valparaiso, IN. After moving to the Twin Cities, we tried several different churches, but came back to the Lutheran church and St. Philip.
Professional background and experience: I started my professional career in social work, helping the disabled and offenders. Then I went back to college for an MBA at the University of Minnesota and went into the corporate world. I worked in product management and marketing for companies that created psychological and educational testing products. Now I serve as Director of Open Enrollment Programs for Executive Education at an area university, where I oversee programs for people seeking to build new business skills or improve their existing skills.
What is something that you love about St. Philip the Deacon? I love all the volunteer opportunities to serve our fellow man both locally and globally through St. Philip. It is important to me to follow Christ’s example and serve others. Through St. Philip, I volunteer regularly with an area food shelf and with Sharing and Caring Hands — and I’ve been part of a number of other service opportunities through the church. But my most memorable experience was being the Global Mission Outreach Leader for St. Philip. I kept the congregation informed of the work we did in Tanzania, building a medical clinic at Orkesumet and classrooms at Morogoro Junior Seminary. In 2005, I co-led a team of 10 people to Tanzania to visit these projects. I have been back to Tanzania on mission trips twice since then. God’s church is growing rapidly in Africa!
Have you ever been surprised by God? Constantly! I have found that whenever I am having a very tough time in life, God has always been there for me. When I turn my problems and concerns over to God, my prayers are answered. Even when things don’t work out as I hoped, they always seem to be for the better in the long run.
If you could meet God face-to-face, what would you want to ask? I’m not sure if I’d have the courage to ask God anything. But if I did, I’d want to know how to stop the fighting and wars in the world, and bring peace and prosperity to everyone. I’d want to know what I could do to be a better servant of His, working towards this end.
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