by Mike Husar
I was recently asked by a parishioner whether I would be willing to share my career background and how I became the Treasurer of a church. Let’s start with college. My parents could not afford to send me to college so I either had to get some sort of scholarship or find a way to work my way through school. At the Baptist church I was attending at the time, there was a young man who was in college so I asked him where he was going and what it cost. My grades were such that I could probably get into any school I could afford to apply to. He mentioned that he was just finishing up at a college in Flint, Michigan called General Motors Institute. I had never heard of this place before. He said it was a great school for engineering and, best of all, you co-oped your way through school. This meant that you spent six weeks working in a GM plant and six weeks at college. The money you earned while working pretty much covered your room and board, books and tuition. Plus, he said you’d have a little bit left over to perhaps get a car down the road. I asked how I could apply for this and he mention there was a GM plant in Elyria, Ohio which was about 30 minutes from where I lived in Lorain. He suggested I go there and ask to apply. I did so, took the required plant tests and interviews and, by the Grace of God I was accepted. I graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Electrical Engineering. God was again extremely good to me. GM later provided me with a Master’s Degree in Systems Engineering from Case institute of Technology and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Baldwin-Wallace. All at almost no cost to me. And all due to a chance encounter at church. How blessed I have been!!
As to how I got to be the Treasurer on the Vestry at our church, there is a little background needed for this. When I joined the Episcopal Church with my wife, I decided to do more than just go to Church on Sunday. I felt that I could serve as a Lay Reader and became one. When we moved to Michigan later and I joined another Episcopal church in the Flint area, the priest wanted me to be able to help distribute Communion with him. To do this, I became a licensed Lay Episcopal Minister. I enjoyed doing this as the priest would distribute the Host and I would assist with the chalice. When I moved here to Scottsdale around 2005, I was not pleased with the liberal turn the Episcopal Church had taken. I went “church shopping” and found that Christ Anglican Church was a good fit for me. It was like the old “High” Episcopal Church I attended way back when. I asked Canon Dart if I could serve as a lay reader and he welcomed me to do so. Over time, he got to know me and asked if I would like to join the Vestry. I said I would and that began my service. This eventually led me to be asked to be the Treasurer which I gladly accepted.
I have seen God at work in my life in so many ways and so many times. More times than I can count in fact. I have been truly blessed by Him.
