New Place Like Home

Hello! My name is Matthew Longfellow, I am excited to serve as the vicar-intern at Prince of Peace for the next two years! I grew up in Westerville, OH, and have been a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church since 2016. I attended Capital University from 2018-2022, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Media Production with Minors in Youth Ministry and History. I currently live in Bexley near Trinity Lutheran Seminary, where I am a Master of Divinity student. In my free time, I am an avid NASCAR fan and enjoy learning U.S. History.

It’s safe to say that in my lifetime, I’ve been around a lot of Lutheran churches. I’ve had 4 family members be ordained in the ELCA. I’ve been a member of two different congregations, and regularly attended two additional congregations and two campus ministries in college. I’ve been employed by a congregation and I did my three semesters of Leadership in Context (LIC) observations in 3 different locations.

But yet, with all of that experience, there are so many new things for me here at Prince of Peace. It’s the first Lutheran church I’ve ever been at that has 3 pastors. 57 confirmands is far more than what I grew up with (12 was a good day). I’ve never seen a cope or cassock used in a Lutheran service before. All of this “new” is so exciting, both as an opportunity to experience what a Lutheran church can be, and as an opportunity to learn what lessons I can take with me from Prince of Peace to my first call.

Because so much of this “new” involves scale, it easily could’ve been intimidating to start here. But everyone has been so welcoming of me with open arms. Grace has been given as I learn my way around and countless names. I’ve only been here a week, but it already feels like home. So while all the things I listed before help make Prince of Peace special, what is truly the most exceptional is the people God has brought together here, that I am so excited to continue to get to know over the coming months and years.

In Christ,

Vicar Matthew