Pastor Corey Scott is the new pastor on the block at Zion Lutheran Church here in Garretson.
“The call to ministry for me came at me in a roundabout way,” he said. “I grew up in Southeast South Dakota in Hudson. I got out of high school and didn’t know what I intended to do with my life. I’ve had a lot of jobs. Retail and grocery store work, manufacturing and sales are all things I’ve done. I have always been actively involved in church, and I’m also a boy scout troop leader too. It’s the kids that really started my desire to go into ministry. Working with them in a church setting started the itch I think. That started it. Both my wife and I also taught Sunday School at St. John in Sioux Falls and I got so involved that it led me to do other things and more, until my pastor sat me down and said, ‘Corey, you may want to think about the ministry yourself, because I think I might see a real calling there.’ And he was right.”
“I started at Sioux Falls Seminary after that, got my vicarage first and worked at Faith United,” he said. “Then my internship at SF Hope Lutheran. As of December of last year (2021) I was ready for my first official calling. Zion needed a new pastor, I applied, and well, apparently, they liked me because they called back right away and asked me when I could start. I said I’ll be there next Monday at the start of January. I was officially ordained right here at Zion and began my duties. Yes, this means that Zion is my first official calling. It’s great for me because Garretson isn’t far from Sioux Falls and I didn’t have to uproot my home and family. Also, I grew up in a town a lot like Garretson, and I like the small-town environment.”
“I suppose that I don’t have much in the way of pastoral experience, but what I do have is a lot of life experience,” he said. “It’s people that I love. I relate to other people and I want to help them as best I can. When I see them struggling and suffering, I want to reach out because I know and understand what it’s like to struggle and suffer. I love to share both joys and pain. Pastoral love is really important to me. Hospital and hospice care can be difficult, you often see people in the darkest places in their lives. But I wouldn’t miss it, to be there in that moment, when someone else needs you the most, that’s what God’s love truly is, to be their support in those dark moments. Having lived through pain myself, being that listening ear and the heart of compassion, it’s truly God's work.”
Pastor Scott says he’s still getting to know the Zion congregational family and the community at large, but he’s liked everything he’s seen so far.
“Everyone has been amazing, understanding and super friendly,” he said. “I can tell that I’m going to really enjoy it here. It’s been very fulfilling already, and we’re just getting started. The people here at Zion are exceptional. Jen Tremel is an amazing human being and I can’t say enough good about her and the work she does with the youth program. Kathy Winter is great too and we have a new Church Secretary as well, as Kathy Winterton has taken up Anita Dixon’s job.”
“I wanna tell everybody how privileged and blessed I feel getting the opportunity to be the new Pastor at Zion,” he said. “I’m just excited to see where God is leading us as a congregation and the good we will do together.”
