By Reverend E. Wendy Huber
This month, VOICES Radio Hour invites leaders and representatives from the Valley’s spiritual community to dive into the journey that shaped them, starting with Reverend E. Wendy Huber of St. Peters of the Valley Episcopal Church. Tune into KDNK Community Access Radio on Friday, Sept. 12 at 6pm for an audio interview with Huber and other spiritual leaders of the Valley.
My journey to ordained ministry began not with a dramatic moment of revelation like burning bushes or thunderbolts, but rather through years of faithful lay service that gradually revealed God’s deeper calling on my life. As Senior Warden at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (a small rural church in Texas), I discovered profound joy in shepherding God’s people through both celebration and crisis. Yet something essential was missing — I could lead, teach and care for the flock, but I could not offer them the sacraments that feed the soul.
The persistent whisper became clear: My greatest service to Christ’s church would be through ordained priesthood, where I could stand at the communion table as celebrant, offering the bread and wine that transforms ordinary moments into encounters with the divine. After years of trying to ignore this call, while building a successful career in dispute resolution and mediation as a lawyer, I finally surrendered to what my heart had known all along.
My professional journey provided unexpected preparation for pastoral ministry. As an executive in several dispute resolution related nonprofit organizations, I learned to help people navigate their deepest conflicts. Leading the Dow Corning Settlement Facility, managing nearly $2 billion in assets while serving 350,000 claimants, taught me to steward resources with integrity and compassion during times of profound loss and pain.
Years of mediation work — from custody disputes to corporate conflicts — honed my ability to listen deeply, speak truth with love and guide people toward reconciliation. Teaching negotiation and conflict resolution at universities, including Pepperdine, Rice and the University of Houston developed my skills in communicating complex truths to diverse audiences. These experiences, I now realize, were God’s way of preparing me to help His people work through spiritual conflicts and find peace.
The transition from a successful secular career to seminary study felt natural. Both required rigorous intellectual engagement, deep listening skills and the ability to guide others through difficult passages. My legal training taught me to interpret texts carefully, while my mediation practice taught me to hold space for others’ pain and guide them toward healing.
In this spectacular valley, surrounded by mountains that declare God’s glory, I have discovered the profound privilege of standing at the altar as a celebrant. The transition from lay leader to ordained priest revealed the unique grace that comes through ordination. While I could teach, counsel and lead as a layperson, I could not offer the sacraments that feed God’s people. Now, standing at the communion table each Sunday, I experience the profound privilege of speaking Christ’s words: “Take, eat: This is my Body … Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood.”
In pastoral counseling, my ordination provides a different kind of authority — not the expertise I claimed as a mediator, but the authority that comes through the church’s recognition of God’s call. When I offer absolution or blessing, I do so not in my own name but as Christ’s representative. This sacramental dimension transforms every pastoral encounter from professional service into sacred ministry.
The rhythm of liturgical seasons shapes my life in ways lay ministry never could. Preparing for Easter while the valley awakens from winter, mirrors the resurrection hope I offer to grieving parishioners. Advent’s quiet preparation amid holiday chaos provides counter-cultural witness to our consumer culture. The weekly Eucharist anchors both my own spiritual life and that of our mountain communities.
Living and serving in this magnificent valley has taught me that God’s creation itself is a form of revelation. The dramatic peaks surrounding our communities remind us daily of the transcendent, while the changing seasons mark liturgical time with natural rhythm. Our small congregations, like the mustard seed in Jesus’ parable, may be tiny but they are vital to the spiritual life of these mountain communities.
Here in Colorado’s high country, I have found the perfect fusion of my love for learning, my skills in leadership and conflict resolution and my deep calling to serve God’s people. Whether leading morning prayer as the sun rises over the Continental Divide or blessing marriages against the backdrop of autumn aspen, I am continually grateful for God’s call to serve in this sacred place.
The transition from successful professional to country priest has been the most fulfilling chapter of my journey — proof that when we finally say yes to God’s persistent call, we discover joys beyond our wildest imagination.