The Rev. Dillon Epler intended to become a lawyer.

Epler had graduated from Central Penn College with a degree in legal studies, worked for a time with the Pennsylvania State Senate, and spent five years in a job at his alma mater.

“I left the college where I was working and I was going to attend law school,” he recalled. “I guess I decided that that was not the right fit for me.”

Epler, of West Penn Township, felt a call to the ministry.

“My decision (to become a pastor) was something that was always in the back of my mind,” he said.

Late last month, Epler was ordained and installed as pastor of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tamaqua. The church at 200 Mauch Chunk St. isn’t new for him; he began serving there in 2021, first as a supply minister and then as its vicar.

“I’ve been there every Sunday since,” Epler said.

Epler grew up in West Penn Township where he attended Zion Stone Church, and graduated from Tamaqua Area High School in 2010.

Along the way, he said, he always held a fondness for the church.

“I love helping people, and the church and other places of worship - the temples and the synagogues - they do things for people that sometimes go unnoticed,” he said. “I like that about houses of worship. We can do things that other organizations can’t, or we can help other organizations. That is something that attracted me about the church.”

He said he and his now-wife, Samantha Bise moved back to the area, and began attending services at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tamaqua.

“After going there for a little while at Zion, we got very involved, and that’s when I really started to feel the call,” Epler said. “I realized I was much more interested in visiting people and doing community work” than practicing law.

Epler told Zion’s pastor, Cindy White, of his interest and she suggested that he speak to the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA).

In 2019, Epler entered the United Lutheran Seminary at Gettysburg.

While he was studying, St. John’s pastor, the Rev. Rev. Phyllis J. Wolford, passed away in early 2021. Epler was assigned by the synod to serve there as a supply minister.

He’s been with the church ever since.

In the fall of 2022, he was named vicar of the church. He continued his studies, and completed his internship at St. John.

“Every pastor has to do a clinical internship and this became the parish. I was already assigned here and instead of moving me to Allentown or Wilkes-Barre, they kept me here because there was no pastor here,” Epler said.

He graduated with a master of divinity degree in May, and was elected church pastor in November.

Epler said he feels fortunate to continue serving the church and community.

“Being a pastor allows you to be with generations of families in times of great need and times of great joy,” he said. “Within small spans of time I could be doing a family’s funeral and I could also be baptizing a child.”

In his role, he’s assisted with families’ life passages: births, deaths, baptisms, confirmations, weddings.

“I’ve seen families grow up over the years even in the short little time that I’ve been here - and that’s something that most people do not get to do,” Epler said.

At St. John’s, he said, congregants live the teachings of Jesus.

“And so we don’t just come to hear those stories on a Sunday morning but we really live them,” he said.

The church contributes to the local food pantry, collects coats and gloves for the needy, and hosts a free community Thanksgiving dinner. During a summertime Community Day, the church gives visitors free picnic foods and collects school uniforms for those unable to afford them.

“I always say that Jesus said we need to feed people, so we contribute to programs that feed people. We’re also supposed to clothe people so we do that as well,” Epler said.

Epler said the church also began partnering with the office of state Rep. Jamie Barton to help folks get assistance from Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or find public housing.

“We are trying to get people up off their feet if they are down and out,” he said.

Services are held Sundays at 9:15 a.m. The church also has Sunday school classes for children.

Epler and his wife have children, Tabitha, 3, and Sophia, 1½ years.