By Allison Roorda
Community Post
Rev. Gene Schnipke is following in his predecessor's footsteps, coming to the Marion Community Cluster after a service in the military.

“It's like being given a new family,” said Schnipke, who began his new assignment last week. “In the beginning, it's getting to know who they are and what their gifts and talents are.”
Schnipke grew up in Putnam County, in Glandorf.
“A lot of the residents here are familiar with that,” commented Schnipke. “In fact, there's a lot of people that are related. It's much the same kind of community, German immigrants who settled here.”
He was ordained in 1980 from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. His first assignment was to Falls Church, Va., as an associate pastor before he went into the Air Force for 22 years.
Got out of the Air Force in 2007, went to school, Israel, and then here.
“I had 22 years on active duty,” said Schnipke. “And I moved 11 times.”
He started in Germany with a RADAR unit and support base and moved to Denver, California, Korea, Boston between 1988 and 1995. He was in school in Boston for one year in preparation for his assignment to the Air Force Acadamy with the cadets. From there, he went to Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, where he served as the base's Catholic priest. Then he went to a NATO base in Germany and served as a main chaplain, the senior chaplain. He returned to Wright Patterson base, then moved to Little Rock, Ar., as the senior chaplain.
After his time in the Air Force, Schnipke returned to school for a year.
“I was in a sabbatical program that update theology,” Schnipke explained. “I wanted to take a little bit more time to study again about litergy, about preaching, about spirituality.”
Through the school, he was also able to take a two-week tour of the Holy Lands
“I had been deployed in the military to Kuwait, to Bahrain, to different places in the Middle East before. But, at that point, we were never allowed to travel,” said Schnipke. “They had a two-week retreat program, and I wanted to be a part of that.”
Schnipke visited sites of Jesus' teaching and miracles and also had the opportunity to pray and celebrate Mass along the tour. During the first week, he toured the Galilee area around the Sea of Galilee and then spent the second week in Jerusalem. He also visited the cities of Tiberius and Capernaum, where Peter lived.
After his schooling, Schnipke took the position at the Marion Community Cluster.
“One of the reasons I decided to leave the Air Force was too much administrative stuff,” noted Schnipke. “I like the ministry and working with people.”
Schnipke also cited his wish to be closer to the place he grew up in as a reason for his retirement from the Air Force and subsequent move to Maria Stein.
“After having been away from my home for such a long time, I thought I'd like to be in an assignment that was closer to home,” Schnipke said.
Schnipke also had a history with Father Ken Schroeder, the previous pastor of the Marion Community Cluster.
“He was from my home area as well,” explained Schnipke, “and he was pretty responsible for talking me into doing military ministry because he was an Army chaplain for years. He retired and came here. When he found out that I was retiring, he said, 'You gotta come here to Maria Stein'.”
Schnipke is the oldest of nine children and looks forward to spending time with his nieces and nephews as well as his aging parents.
Schnipke himself enjoys high school sports. In the military, Schnipke explains that people pay more attention to professional or college teams than in the rural communities such as Glandorf and Marion Local. He also enjoys bike riding and gardening.
“Some of the assignments I had were in the desert, so there isn't much you're going to grow in the desert,” Schnipke commented. “This area is more rural, so there's a lot of possibilities.”
Schnipke is also looking forward to getting to the people of his parish.
“In today's world, people get busy, and their not always sure where religion and church and things like that fit in,” said Schnipke. “I would say that I think it's a gift that helps us do better in the world. There's a lot of participation in the church here, in the community. We're able to gather and work together and grow in our love for God and help the world be a better place.”