![\"Marti](\"http:\/\/old.covchurch.org\/uploads\/Gs\/Ly\/GsLyiTX4YpTn5n3m8NMyLg\/Burgers-small.jpg\")
\u201cIt was so amazing,\u201d Melissa says. \u201cIt\u2019s a privilege and an honor.\u201d<\/p>\nCHICAGO, IL (June 21, 2006) – The first mother and daughter ever to be ordained in the same year say they didn\u2019t think about the fact that this also is the year the Evangelical Covenant Church celebrates the 30th anniversary of its decision to ordain women. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe hadn\u2019t thought about that,\u201d says Marti Burger, who with daughter, Melissa Wall, was ordained during Friday evening\u2019s worship service as part of the 121st Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids. Learning of the connection made the event even more special, Marti adds. \u201cThe Covenant family has encouraged us, and that\u2019s a huge gift.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so amazing,\u201d Melissa says. \u201cIt\u2019s a privilege and an honor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marti is the director of youth and family ministries for the Covenant\u2019s Department of Christian Formation. Melissa is the associate pastor of Christian Formation at DeerGrove Covenant Church in Palatine, Illinois.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really wanted to be ordained with Melissa,\u201d says Marti, who finished her master\u2019s degree years after she first started. \u201cI felt blessed to be ordained with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marti had begun work on her M.Div. some 18 years ago, but then children came along and she began working alongside Steve in ministry. \u201cI just couldn\u2019t do it all,\u201d Marti says as to why she waited to finish. \u201cThis year, I said I was going to do it all.\u201d<\/p>\n
If most years would have been difficult to fit school into her schedule, this year in particular may have been one of the tougher ones. Her son, Paul, was graduating from high school, and she is one of the CHIC organizers. That event takes place just weeks from now in Tennessee.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you can do anything for a season,\u201d Marti says, adding she\u2019ll be glad when this season is over.<\/p>\n
Marti had spent years working in ministry, but Melissa initially wanted nothing to do with full-time ministry. \u201cI had seen it from both sides,\u201d she says. Attending CHIC in 1994 changed that. During a worship service, speaker Ken Davis gave a call for people to come forward, and Melissa says she had an experience not to be forgotten.<\/p>\n
Melissa was in her seat when she felt pushed from behind. She turned to one of her friends sitting behind her and said, \u201cNicole, quit pushing me.\u201d Nicole and another friend both denied having pushed her.<\/p>\n
Melissa then felt as if someone was pushing her down the aisle. \u201cDown that little walk down the aisle, my heart changed 180 degrees,\u201d Melissa recalls. \u201cThat experience has been so strong and so moving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those few steps have turned into many with more ahead. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t do it without our family,\u201d Melissa says, with Marti echoing her full agreement.<\/p>\n
The Annual Meeting was a memorable affair for the entire family: Steve Burger, director of the Covenant\u2019s children and family ministries, prayed over his wife and daughter during the ordination service, and Fredrik Wall, Melissa\u2019s husband, serves as the Annual Meeting coordinator.<\/p>\n
Copyright \u00a9 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.<\/p>\n