Pastor Norma Malfatti comes to us from the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, having graduated in May, 2011. During her time in seminary she served several congregations and faith-based agencies including First Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE where she lived for a year, Lazarus Lutheran Church in Lineboro, MD and the ELCA Washington Office.
Prior to attending seminary Pr. Norma worked in government funded low-income housing for senior citizens and mobility impaired persons across the Metropolitan New York area, managing buildings in Queens, Brooklyn and Long Island, and connecting tenants with community services in upstate New York and Long Island. When asked why she left working to go to seminary she says that, "I always knew that I was called to be a pastor, ever since I was a little girl. The time had finally come when God said, 'now is the time.'"
One of Pr. Norma's passion for ministry is advocacy ministry and she served internships at Bread for the World and two ELCA advocacy agencies. She firmly believes that justice is not just about making sure that hungry people have food, the homeless have a place to stay and the naked are clothed but that the systemic injustices in the world that cause people to be hungry and in need are eradicated as well. In addition to advocacy and justice ministries, Pr. Norma loves to worship God and teach others about God's love and forgiveness available to all people.
In her downtime Pr. Norma is an avid reader and an even more enthusiastic NY Yankees fan. She currently lives in the Downtown Binghamton with her mother, Betty, and her three cats, Alice, Emmett and George, who love to tell her that it's time to play fetch.