About The Chaplain

About Me
My name is Patrick Wilson. After being a Cub Scout in Pack 32 in Santa Clara, CA for a year, we moved to Milpitas, CA where I joined Troop 92 in September, 1976 and have been with it ever since. At 22, I became Scoutmasterand served for 6 years in this position. Since then I have served many positions in the Troop, District and Council levels. I have taken Woodbadge eight times, once asaparticipant and seven times on staff (staff members are just participants at a different level). Scouting has been a big part of my life over the past 40 years.

I am married to a beautiful and supportive wife, Carol. I have three beautiful daughters, two from my first marriage and a step daughter from my second marriage, who's wedding I had the honor of presiding over. We have one grandson who is chomping at the bit to join Scouting..

I was raised Roman Catholic and attended a Catholic high school where I briefly considered going into the priesthood. Soon after high school, though, I became disillusioned with my faith and set off on a 15 year journey to discover what I really believed. For a time, Scouting was my only connection to my faith. All of this time, the Lord was preparing me for my return to Him and a calling that I would have never imagined. In 1999, I received the Silver Beaver Award. By then I was pretty well known and well respected among the adults and youth alike within my troop, district and council. That is when the unexpected happened.

The Calling
Over a period of three days during my 45 minute commute to and from work each day, the Lord called me out. It was a clear as it was coming over the radio. As a matter of fact, I am not sure that it wasn't. For three days I would get in my car and be in a trance-like-state where I had no control over the vehicle. Basically what happened was that the Lord had taken me to and from work while placing on my heart to work for Him and make Scouting my ministry. I couldn't understand. Why me? Here I was, running around claiming agnisticism and making jokes about bible thumpers. Why me? His response was simple. He said to me, " I have let you run loose long enough. I have placed you in a position on influence and now I want you to work for Me".

From this point I knew that I needed to find a church. I realized that I was not a denominational person and the Catholic church that I grew up in was not in line with my thinking. I had become a protestant thinker. So I started looking at different protestant churches. I knew it had to be Christ centered. After several months of searching, the Lord led me to Mt.Olive Ministries, a LCMS community. This is where I have been since 1999. Although I don't claim to be a Lutheran, I find that this particular church is Christian first and Lutheran second.which is consistent with my belief that God sent His Son to be the ultimate example for all of us to be.

The funny thing is that when I arrived a Mt. Olive, there was no place to house a Scouting Ministry. The Lord has His ways. After a couple of weeks, I heard about their plan to build a Community Life Center with a multi-use room and 10 classrooms. Scouting is now one of the largest local outreach ministries of Mt. Olive with over 150 youth during the peak season. With Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of all ages meeting at the same time, there is something for everyone in the family which makes it convenient for parents with multiple children.

Currently, I serve as the Charter Organization Rep and Chaplain for Pack, Troop and Crew 92 that meets at Mt. Olive in Milpitas. I also serve as the Religious Emblems Coordinator for the Coyote Creek District of the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council.

My Ministry
Serving as a spiritual guide and counselor for a largely un-churched community is the one of the greatest task the Lord has given me. In June of 2006, I received my ordination through the United New Testament Church, an evangelical free church which supports independent ministries with training, ordination and peer support. Although the main focus of my ministry is to serve youth through Scouting, as an ordained minister, I have been honored to officiate over the memorial services of several former leaders and to officiate the wedding of one of my Eagle Scouts and his lovely bride.