PASTOR
MELODY EASTMAN (pastor): We didn't attend church at
all when I was growing up. When I went to college, my neighbor
in the dorm invited us to go to this church she had found.
I walked in the door and it was like I had come home. JUDY VALENTE: It is Sunday, just after dawn, Pastor Melody Eastman prepares for the 7:30 worship service -- the first of three she'll conduct today.
Pastor Eastman: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God be with you all.
VALENTE: A few words of parting. A dash for coffee, then it's on to the 8:30 service.
PASTOR EASTMAN: You're on, bud. You know what you're doing? Not a clue? Regular, straightforward service.
The amount of time it takes to plan one worship service would probably floor folks.
VALENTE: At this service, Eastman's husband Marty is a guitarist. Her son, Niles, plays the conga drums. Daughter Emlyn is in the pews.
PASTOR EASTMAN: Welcome on this Lord's Day, it's good to have you with us. You know, Jesus could be disturbingly devious when He had a mind to.
I find there is almost always a hook in the Scripture passage, something that's either a surprise or struggle with the text. That tends to be where I'll focus.
VALENTE: Women make up only about 14% of the ELCA's [Evangelical Lutheran Church in America] nearly 18,000 ministers. Only 26 senior pastors are women.
STEVE MEYSING (associate pastor): The first woman to serve a congregation usually has a lot of ground to break and goes through a lot of trauma in that acceptance process.
VALENTE:
With the 8:30 service over, she rushes off to teach a religious
education class for teens. PASTOR EASTMAN: I've got to get to class now.
(To students): It is very important to know the Apostles' Creed, isn't it!
VALENTE: To liven up a lesson on the Apostles' Creed, she enlists the help of her son's fish and a dog named Jeraboam.
PASTOR EASTMAN (to dog): I need you to help me teach these fish. Have you got that? Jeraboam, the fish, honey, the fish.
VALENTE: With five minutes to spare before the next service, she jots a few notes to herself in her office.
PASTOR EASTMAN: Welcome on this Lord's Day. It's good to have you with us.
You have to learn how to juggle all kinds of things, and not all of them are your gift. Sometimes, you make mistakes. That's hard. You want to be good at everything, but you can't.
VALENTE: Finally, at 3:30 in the afternoon, some ten hours after starting her day, she arrives home. Her husband Marty, a computer programmer, is slowly remodeling their house.
PASTOR EASTMAN: Hey, hon.
MARTY EASTMAN (husband): Hey, dear.
PASTOR EASTMAN: I'm gonna go crash. By the way, I thought it went great today.
MR. EASTMAN: Oh, good.
PASTOR EASTMAN: Life is short ... read the funnies first.
VALENTE: After 14 years in ministry, Pastor Eastman earns a base salary of about $33,000 a year. The church also subsidizes her housing. Lutheran ministers are among the lowest paid in mainline churches. A minister starting out might earn as little as $25,000 a year.
While Sunday worship represents the core of pastoring, it is but a small portion of a minister's life. Today's pastors are more than counselors, preachers, and spiritual leaders. They have to be chief executive officers, accountants, and crisis managers. It's a constant battle to balance each role.
Add to that list, doubling as a maintenance engineer.
PASTOR EASTMAN: Here we have a case of a recurring ... concerns with the building. ... Those things come up just about every week -- almost everyday.
VALENTE:
A pastor must be able to shift at a moment's notice between
administrative tasks and the tough emotional work of ministering.
On this day, Eastman brings Communion to a man who suffers
from a rare and debilitating disease. 
VALENTE:
When Eastman's daytime appointments are completed, her evening
duties begin -- like this pre-marriage counseling session.
It is also the hour to return calls. 
