Welcome to Justin Marquis, pastoral intern

Justin Marquis (pronounced “marquee”) joined the staff in August, bringing a philosophy professor’s curiosity, a semi-cross-country bike tour’s worth of patience, and a conviction that church can hold both its history and its future at once.

Justin studied philosophy, religious studies, and history at Purdue University, earned a master’s degree in philosophy there, and went on to earn a doctorate in philosophy from Loyola University Chicago. He taught philosophy at American University in Washington, D.C., before sensing it was time for something new. A detour through bartending in Cincinnati, a pandemic, an unexpected office job at a Lutheran church in Chicago and a 2,500-mile bike tour later, he’s arrived at St. Paul as part of a new kind of internship, one that stretches across three and a half years while he completes seminary.

Tell us about your journey from professor to seminary student. 
“I was working in Cincinnati and trying to find myself. I had left the world of academia and I was figuring out who I am. For so long I’d thought of myself as a philosophy professor, but I didn’t want that to be my sole identity. I took that time alone on the bike trail to heal from the disappointment of what I thought my life was going to be and to become content with what life threw at me. It was really a sacred time of meditation. It was a form of prayer.

Two years in, I met my partner, Zyzzy. This was right around when the pandemic hit. Meeting her at just the right time was also important for me. I wouldn’t be here, considering serving in the church, if all of these things hadn’t happened.

When the world reopened, we decided to start fresh in Chicago where I found office administrative work at Irving Park Lutheran Church. I went into it thinking it would be just a job. I was really taken by surprise by this community, the good they did, and the way they showed love to people.”

What was the turning point? 
“While working at Irving Park, I was asked to help with a funeral for a partner in a same sex couple. This was my first time inside a worship service in 20 years. The way the church honored and surrounded this family, I thought ‘that is how the gospel can be.’ It was a really eye-opening, life-changing moment.

Not long after, I preached for the first time. Getting to do that for people who want to be there, for all ages, all backgrounds, having it make a difference in people’s lives, it was very soon after I preached that I realized that’s what I’m supposed to do.”

How did you prepare for this next chapter? 
“We spent five months and 2,500 miles bicycling across the Midwest, visiting Lutheran congregations along the way. It was so much fun to live off of our bikes, in a tent, and see places from a different angle than we normally get to see.”

What excites you about the future? 
“I’m intrigued by the interplay between something that is ancient and has a past, and something new that isn’t burned by the past but learns from it. I want to see how that tradition can be cultivated in a world that needs a lot of love right now.”