Ministry vs. Academia: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “A Turning Point”

 

The Road Not Taken: Ed Jandy’s Choice to Leave the Ministry and Pursue a PhD

Edward Clarence (Jandesek) Jandy: 1899-1980 (Maternal Grandfather)

 

As a young man, and a new husband and father, Edward Jandy stood at the junction of two different paths in life. He needed to make a choice about his long-term career. Should he continue working as a minister, or should he pursue a PhD in the field of sociology with the intent to become a college professor?  

Ed Jandy started his college career at Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois. The college only offered two year degrees, so he transferred to Coe College in Iowa to complete his undergraduate degree. He basically started his college career over again, entering as a freshman with only some transferable credits.

Ed in his Blackburn College sweater, with college friends, circa 1922

He began his career in the ministry while at Coe. He became friends with an older student, a Seth Huntington, who was working as a student pastor. Religious discussions turned into true friendship and a job offer. Ed explained in his memoir as follows:

“Somehow an acquaintanceship became a true friendship, perhaps because he learned that I had an interest in religion and the church, as well as in social problems.  He once complimented me by saying that he wished he had my command of language and public speaking, and suggested how important these were for anyone considering the ministry;  peripherally in my mind was the thought that I would perhaps head for the ministry, but the impulse to do so, or the urge, was not a dominating one.

I became a student pastor.  Early in my sophomore year a representative of the Congregational Church contacted me.  He said a small town, Vining, Iowa, 45 miles west of Cedar Rapids, needed an interim pastor.  This man said he had made inquiries around the campus and my name was proposed.  But I am sure it was my good friend Seth Huntington whose recommendation determined the man's visit.  “Why me? And what makes you think I would be interested?”  And so on, he told me to give it some thought.  An English teacher, a woman whose advice I sought, helped me to decide.  “It would be a rich experience for you, help you to sort out some of your religious thinking, and give you invaluable experience as a public speaker,” she pointed out.  “All you do is read some favorite chapters of the Bible, pick out some thought that appealed to you and build your sermon around it.”  By request I went out to Vining one Sunday;  they liked the sermon and me, and invited me to serve until they found a permanent pastor.  This was not a full-time job;  only weekends did I have to go out.

Ed during undergrad years.

Ed remembered his congregation as middle-aged, friendly, and uncomplaining when Ed had no time for pastoral visits. He would drive out on terrible roads on Saturday to a rented room in Vining, where he would prepare notes for his morning’s sermon. In 1925, he married Lorene Smith and they moved to Hillsdale, Michigan where Lorene had a secretarial position. Ed finished his undergraduate degree at Hillsdale. He recalled:

“I was not unhappy to leave the pastorate [in Vining].  Yes, it was a rich experience in interpersonal relations and public speaking.  Too, it helped me to sort out some theological and religious ideas.  I never then or later wrote out a sermon; all was from notes.  Once an outstanding minister from Chicago addressed our student body at Blackburn.  As he spoke, a spring wind blew his notes off the lectern, but he went on as if nothing had happened.  As we left the hall, I determined to myself that the time would come when I too would be able to speak from or without notes.  It did!”

Hillsdale College, Michigan.

He returned to the ministry while at Hillsdale. Ed described his decision as follows:

“A fellow senior about my age was pastor of Congregational Church at North Adams, 8 miles from Hillsdale. He invited me to give a sermon one Sunday during his absence.  I did so and enjoyed the service and the congregation.  This, it turned out, was a "trial" sermon.  Later a committee from this church asked me to take over when my fellow senior left. …I moved to North Adams, house furnished by church, and awaited return of Gram and our daughter. The house was large for our family; cold in winter, heated by a pot-belly stove.”

The Congregational Church in North Adams circa 1920s when Ed was the minister

Ed was first completing his B.A. while working as a minister, and continued once he started graduate school. Hillsdale College was only seven miles or so from North Adams, so he was able to keep up with both endeavors. However, when he started his graduate work at University of Michigan, his balancing act became more difficult. He felt some guilt and regret that he was unable to devote more time and attention to his church congregation. He recalled:

“I had to travel 90 miles from Ann Arbor to Hillsdale every weekend. Fortunately, I did not have a heavy load of pastoral work - visiting members of the congregation, etc. The people of North Adams were good to us, easy to get along with and satisfy. On Saturday afternoons and evenings I would prepare my Sunday messages while in North Adams. Our baby was easy to care for and we used to leave her in the basement alone in her carriage while the service went on, and she generally slept all through the service. After Jimmie Richards came up, things went easier for Gram and released me psychologically from any economic or other worry, to know that Gram now had it much easier in the care of the house and the child.

I sometimes felt guilty over the fact that I put in so little time at the church in North Adams, but the congregation never complained about this. Moreover, my situation now was such that benign neglect was inevitable; my grad work was now the important assignment and necessitated the bulk of my time and energy. Fortunately, our family never had any doubt or conflict over all this. Gram was as happily occupied in her teaching as I was in my University of Michigan work.”

Ed wrote about his choice between two careers: the ministry and academia. He recalled that his faith was formed from regular Sunday School attendance in Chicago. But, he noted, he never felt a true calling to become a minister.

“Let me emphasize that I never was a burning religionist. Though I was mildly intent on going into the ministry in my Blackburn days, even such intent as I still had, began to erode as a freshman at Coe. But my interest in the church and its activities did not diminish. My subsequently becoming a student pastor at Coe and later at Hillsdale eroded rapidly any drift toward the ministry as a career. Further, as church converts might put it, "Many are called but few are chosen”.  My interest in religion became more refined and rational as a result of my growing interest in history, psychology, and philosophy. To sum up this phase of my life experience as a student pastor: it helped me earn a living; it gave me an opportunity to become a good public speaker, to think on my feet, and to speak only from notes, a practice I continued as a university instructor and later professor, all my academic life. Lastly but not least, my interest in religion and the church had a profound and lasting effect upon my moral and social ideals.”

Ed went on to note that religion remained an important influence in his and Lorene’s lives, stating:

“Though I could not pretend to be the quintessence of the church goer, we have supported the church financially for years, and in the past several years I was in charge of an adult Sunday School class and courses in Comparative Religion, The Role of Religion in Life, and even now The Bible and You. Let me emphasize that Gram always had a role in all these decisions and activities, from my early Blackburn days up to now; too, that we grew together in our marriage, both in religion and in socio-political, economic enlightenment.”

Ed and Lorene, early in marriage

Ed’s memoir is an incredible resource that few families have. Most genealogists have only the bare facts that point to job choices and career changes, such as census records showing a new job. The reasons and motivations that led to career decisions remain a mystery. We are fortunate to have this window into Ed’s feelings about the ministry, and why he chose to seek his doctorate and embark on an academic career. It is an especially important resource since my husband, Ed’s grandson, had no idea that his grandfather had ever served as a minister or seriously considered the ministry as a career. It was never discussed during my husband’s lifetime. He even believed his grandfather had never been a religious person. This is a reminder that our understanding of even our living relatives’ lives can be very limited.

Sources:

Edward Jandy Memoir, pgs. 6-8. Held by family.

Family photos, held by family.

Wikipedia photo of Hillsdale College.

Vintage postcard of North Adams Church.