Lona Hart
I was born on May 3, 1918 and raised by Christian parents with ten brothers and sisters. My father, a railroad conductor, was a good provider for a large family and we always had food and clothing and a good home. In those depression days I never realized that we, too, were poor.
As long as I can remember, I wanted to be a nurse, and at one time I hoped to be a missionary, but did not know how to go about being such a person. I did become a nurse, and after many years in clinical nursing, I became a school nurse and worked in that position for 18 years.
I have one daughter who has lived in Texas for 20 years. After my husband Arthur died, I felt quite alone and responded to a letter sent to our church by a college in the area seeking a House Resident. As I did this, I became very excited. Three interviews were very positive and I prayed that God would grant this desire. In my prayer I told God that I knew that he knew the needs of the college and what I had to offer, and I reminded him that I was qualified. With tears in my eyes I told him that I would abide by his will. I never dreamed that after three months I would receive a letter telling me that another person had been given the position. I was not devastated as you would expect, but calmly read the letter and accepted the fact that this was not God’s will. Two days later I was asked to finish the school year for a nurse who was ill!
That summer, an interim priest at Trinity Episcopal Church in Beaver who was an alumnus of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry told me that he and his wife, who had been the school nurse at Trinity, were leaving the area and that I should apply for the position. I did and was hired!
I thank God for saying “no” to the desire of my heart and giving me, instead, a gift of many blessings! From the very beginning I was so pleased to be in a community of Christians that I praised God daily for allowing me to be among them. I asked his help in serving each one as I was capable.
This gratitude prompted me to want to help with the growth of the school, and although I am not wealthy by any means, I learned that I could make a gift to the Pooled Income Fund and receive an income interest during my lifetime and help the school as well. I have included in my will a gift for the Rt. Rev. John Rodgers Scholarship Fund as well as the newly established Pittsburgh Bishops Scholarship Fund. I also contribute each month from my salary for the general expenses of the school. I find this a pleasure and not a hardship, for it is deducted automatically from my bank account. As with all that God gives us, if we give back to him he does indeed supply all our needs.
For 20 years I have prayed that God would draw my daughter closer to him and to me. That prayer, too, has been answered. She and her husband have moved back near me and are worshipping with me in my church at Trinity, Beaver.
I am 87 years old, in good health, still blessed to remain at Trinity, active in my church, give to missionaries (the closest I have come to being one), and play golf and bridge. Praise is to God!
I share with Bishop Kwashi of Nigeria (a graduate of Trinity’s Doctoral program) his sentiments expressed in his address at the 2005 graduation exercises: “I am eternally grateful to Trinity, and I pray that Trinity will serve the world.” And to God be the glory!
