by Rozella Bower
On September 1, 2020, The Rev. Dr. Eric J. Trozzo began his pastorate at Saint Matthew Lutheran Church.
A lot has happened in those first five years and he agreed to meet with me for a conversation about that journey, his ministry, and the vision of hope for the future of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church.
Pastor Eric arrived in the midst of a global pandemic. In-person worship had been shut down, opened briefly after his arrival, and then shut down for many weeks. We worshiped via Zoom before acquiring a You Tube channel. Many decisions had to be made during that time regarding how we stay connected as a church family. Today “we are a different congregation and in a different place. There is a big cultural change because of the pandemic.,” Pastor noted. Not only were there those changes but it was his first time as a solo pastor. He and his wife had been co-pastors of a church in northern New Jersey prior to his coming here. He said it has not been too overwhelming to serve alone except when he has to be in several places at one time. He used Ministry Night as an example when various ministries are meeting and he can spend only a few minutes with each one.
We talked about what have been Pastor’s joys in the past five years. He has seen the Spirit moving in people with an increase in their faith and in leadership. His biggest disappointment is in adult education. Adult Forum needs a leader and perhaps a different time slot. It is something to work on in the near future.
Before becoming our pastor he spent seven years as a missionary, teaching in a Lutheran seminary in Malaysia. He loves teaching and especially seminary teaching. Since then he has taught for Trinity Seminary in Ohio. Earlier this year he spent some time teaching at Australian Lutheran College in North Adelaide in Australia, as part of his call to serve the global church through education. He will continue teaching some online courses there. In his professional life he has written articles, chapters for books, and book reviews. He currently has a book contract he is working on.
I did not know Pastor Eric was on the New Jersey Synod Council until Bishop Tracie Bartholomew mentioned it in her sermon on our anniversary Sunday in May. I asked him about some of his thoughts on that responsibility and his reply was it has given him a whole new awareness of the many things the Synod does (with an emphasis on many). He serves on the Leadership Team and through it he has developed a class in lay preaching, which is designed to teach lay people how to prepare sermons occasionally. There are so few people available to substitute when a pastor is on vacation or otherwise unable to be in worship and Pastor believes there are people in congregations who would be able to preach during a pastor’s absence if they had some instruction. He will teach several classes and call in other pastors to teach as well. The coming year will be a transitional time for the Synod with a new bishop. For the first time since Pastor Herluf M. Jensen was elected President of the Synod in 1978 (The title was later changed to Bishop) there will be a bishop who has not served as an assistant to the bishop. The Rev. Christa Compton comes directly from being pastor of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Chatham, NJ.
Pastor Eric and his family live in Tabernacle, a more rural area in the Pine Barrens and he loves living in the woods. He has been logging the various birds he sees in his front yard and has recorded more than 40 species. He recently hiked the Batona Trail in the Pine Barrens. He began one summer but had to stop before finishing because whenever he sat down to rest he became covered in ticks. Having decided on a better time to hike, he finished the trail in October.
His doctoral studies were in Ecological Theology or “how we speak of God as Creator of the world and it matters how we treat it”. He believes God’s creation is wherever we are: home, Moorestown, Philadelphia, etc., not just in the woods.
Pastor Trozzo is essentially on call 24/7 but he takes some Sabbath time each day to get away from his regular job responsibilities, whether it is cleaning the house, cooking, reading, or going to the gym. He also enjoys attending concerts and improv shows in the Philadelphia area. Although the household is not as busy as it once was, they plan for family time. His wife Wendolyn works as an EMT three days per week and serves as interim pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Somers Point. He tries to take Fridays off so they can spend time together. Their older son Dante will be a junior at the University of Akron in the fall and their younger son Cade will be a high school senior. After dinner they enjoy playing board games together.
In answer to my question of what he would like to see happening at Saint Matthew in the next 5 years, Pastor replied, “an increase in ‘hands-on’ service projects – something to make a difference”.
New members often ask how they can volunteer. Our membership has a history in conducting civic and charitable efforts, both near and far.
The Lunch Bunch Ministry has provided bagged lunches for people through Cathedral Kitchen in Camden for decades. We’ve done numerous food drives for Bridge of Peace Church, as well. The Green Team hosts an annual Packing event before Thanksgiving with Farmers Against Hunger. Our church houses the Moorestown Ministerium Food Pantry, which feeds more than 300 households each month. There is no longer a Crop Walk in Moorestown, however, and we haven’t done the Appalachian Service Project for quite a few years. Pastor Eric would like to see a restart of the ASP and revive our participation with Family Promise of Burlington County, formerly Interfaith Hospitality, which works with families experiencing homelessness. “Beyond that”, he said, “We need to find new opportunities to serve in the community”.
My last question for Pastor Eric: We are living in a very divisive climate with anxiety, hatred, antisemitism, etc. How can we have hope? He replied that “we cannot sit and absorb what is available to us every day. We need to focus on doing something meaningful every day. We can build on relationships. Those things give us hope. Saint Matthew is a very strong community of faith. There is a stable base and many things are done well. There are places to grow and Saint Matthew is able to do that even though we may have to set new standards.”
God’s peace to you, Pastor Eric. We are thankful to you for leading us through these past five years; for your dedication to our congregation; for guiding us through the pandemic; and in helping us to grow in our faith. We look forward to your continued care and leadership as we do what we can to “Live the Love”.at we can to “Live the Love”.