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At first glance, Pastor Ed Cottrell’s journey to the ministry seems like any other. However, upon closer inspection the events that carved his path -- ultimately leading to the pulpit -- were anything but ordinary.

Nearly 30 years ago, Cottrell, who has worked in fire and EMS his entire life, was serving as Chairman of Trustees for Bethel United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. As the term limit for that position had quickly come and gone, Cottrell says, “A good leader knows when to step down before they’re asked. I realize I wasn’t being as effective, and so I decided it was time to do something different.”

It was then the father of three became a lay leader in the Methodist Church. It was 1999 and Cottrell reflects that he felt so comfortable with the experience it was clear to him he was where he was meant to be.

After 20 years with IU Health, Cottrell retired to become a full-time pastor.

In the early days of his ministry, Cottrell’s first appointment was at Maple Hill United Methodist Church in Wannamaker was from 2008 to 2017. It was then he and his wife, Lyla, arrived in Hope and he assumed his role at Hope United Methodist.

Recently, Cottrell took some time to speak about the pivotal moment he decided to become an EMT, how the emergency responder journey led him to the pulpit and, ultimately, helped shape his ministry, as well as the importance of faith in times of crisis and the lessons he’s learned along the way.

HSJ: What led you to become a first responder?

EC: I was working at Community Hospital North [in Indianapolis] as a groundskeeper right out of high school and we did maintenance on their equipment. I had to go to an auto parts store at Brookville and Ritter to get parts for our mowers. It was a rainy day. When I was in there, I heard this ungodly sound and some woman had pulled out onto Brookville Road into the path of a semi and he broadsided her driving her into the fence at International Harvester. 

The guys there tried to get to her but couldn’t because her vehicle was tangled in the fence. I had the first opportunity to get to her before anyone else did. When I got to her, I had no clue what to do other than hold her hand – she later became an employee at Community East. She survived with permanent injuries. All I could do was hold her hand and comfort her and I swore that would never happen again – I went and got training and joined the fire department with Warren Township on the east side of Indy. I was 18 years old. I went on to become a state certified EMT in 1977 – I still carry that certification and it has never lapsed.

HSJ: Looking back, has the journey been what you thought it would be?

EC: Actually, and it is a good thing, no, it has been completely different. It’s been a wonderful journey. Of course it has had its downs, but you can’t go through anything without having down time or times asking. "Is it really worth it?" And being able to – one of my ministries I really wanted to do is minister to the first responders.

HSJ: How does that ministry differ, would you say?

EC: First responders will not talk to clergy – because clergy have no idea what they go through. The thing of it is, I’ve been on both sides and we both go through the same thing. One of my mentors made the comment, “Ed you are coming into this hands-up. You have something most clergy don’t have when they come into ministry – dealing with families in crisis.”

HSJ: How would you say your experiences have shaped your approach to the ministry?

EC: The thing of it is, when you talk with people – I’ve dealt with them in crisis, I understand their anxieties. Clergy doesn’t have the experience of dealing with people in crisis. Dealing with first responders, I’ve dealt with them, and I know how they think. I also – and I use this quite a bit and I’m not ashamed of it – I came close to committing suicide as a kid, my late teenage years. But I decided the only people it would hurt were the people who really cared about me – I use that. When I didn’t do it, look at the lives I’ve touched, and I can see all a whole slew of lives that I’ve literally saved. Had I not been there, that wouldn’t have happened. And so that is where I really relate to the movie "It’s a Wonderful Life".

HSJ: What about when it comes to first responders?

EC: When it comes to first responders, I had a run that really affected me, but I didn’t realize it for a year. A woman died, but I did all I could, and it was trouble to accept that. Nothing could be done. It just wasn’t enough. It wasn’t any fall I had; it just wasn’t going to be. I put my mother in that woman’s place and didn’t realize it. First responders do that. They put their families there – this is what I would want someone to do for my family. Suicide rates are really high with first responders. The face that I am and have been – they will listen to me, but not until after I listen to them. And that is the big thing, no one is going to open up to you until they think you are listening to them. And, so, I make sure I hear before I say.

HSJ: Tell us a bit about your extension ministry to first responders.

EC: I chaplain to Hope PD, Hope Fire, Clay Fire and some of the Bartholomew County deputies, they know me. You also have to – really important – they have to know they have confidence in you and confidentiality. For me, I really have to be trusting before I will release anything. They have to know they can trust me.

HSJ: How does that shape your message?

EC: The message is basically the same. You have to use a different approach depending on the situation. I use this as an example, as a firefighter – no fire is exactly the same. It will react differently according to weather conditions, wind, availability of fuel – it is still a fire. First aid runs, you could have a cut on the arm, the treatment is still the same, but the approach is different according to the person’s history and experience – so how you talk to them will be a bit different. Like a kid to an adult, the message is the same, but the approach is different.

HSJ: How has the ministry changed you?

EC: I am more comfortable in what I do. But I also rely more on being guided, spiritually. It is not so much, this is what I’m doing, no, you are just the vessel. That would be the biggest thing.

HSJ: Would you do anything differently if given the opportunity?

EC: Probably not, because things would not have worked out like they have. Things happen for a reason, there is a grand scheme plan, and you have to be willing to allow it to happen. That is how I ended up in ministry.

HSJ: What do you enjoy doing when you aren’t ministering or volunteering as a first responder?

EC: I’m a nature lover. I love camping and bird watching. One of my congregants has a blind that we built where I can go sit and do nothing or walk around the circumference of Schaefer Lake. And I do photography. I’ve been a bird watcher since high school. I love seeing eagles. I like seeing birds of prey and next in line are waterfowl.

HSJ: How would you describe the importance of faith these days?

EC: You have to have something to believe in. God is the creator of everything – you don’t have to go to church to believe – in a church, it is not just a matter of going and attending, it is about going and growing. I always ask people if they have a church home and if they do, is the church feeding you and helping you grow? Are you helping the church grow? And not just by money, are you helping the ministry of the church – you can’t keep feeding people because eventually the food will run out. Somebody has to restock. This country is in just terrible shape. It doesn’t have to be a certain denomination; it just needs to be in God and finding a home where you can grow and help to grow.

HSJ: What’s been the greatest lesson you’ve learned thus far on this journey?

EC: Patience. I am a type A personality. If things don’t go according to plan, people die. That is the biggest thing I’ve had to learn.

HSJ: How has the ministry changed you as a husband, father, friend?

EC: It’s had its good points and bad points as far as a husband b/c it does mean requiring more time, but my wife understands that. And, so, the respect and understanding I have for her has increased because she knows what it takes and sometimes it makes her upset as far as with the way things go and not necessarily with me, but in the ministry, it upsets her sometimes, but she is comfortable with it. When I do finally retire, retirement will be here in Hope.

HSJ: Where do you see yourself and the ministry in the future?

EC: Mandatory I will have to retire at 72. I can do part-time pastoral work. I don’t see myself stopping until God calls me home. It just depends -- when He says, “I think you are done. Come home.”