Deaconess Pat Nuffer

Patricia Nuffer is a Deaconess of Zion. She was raised in Birmingham, Michigan, a middle child of six in a wonderful family. A product of good public education, an Episcopalian upbringing, and college at Northwestern University, Pat married her high school sweetheart, Rick, and finished at Valparaiso University.

After living in Chicago as Rick taught and after having their first two children, Kimberly and Eric, they moved to Waco, Texas for Rick to attend Baylor Law School. There Pat also began the study of and a career in Speech Pathology. The years in Texas were fruitful ones, as Rick established his law practice both in Houston and later in Brenham, and they were blessed with two more children, Carl and Fritz. 

A career change brought the Nuffers to Fort Wayne, the first time for seminary, and after five and a half years in Rockport, Texas, serving Peace Lutheran Church, they came back to Fort Wayne for Rick to teach at the seminary. Pat entered the deaconess program at Concordia Theological Seminary after son Fritz graduated from homeschool and went off to Hillsdale College. 

Hands of Mercy began as Pat's internship for the deaconess program, working with people with disabilities in South Sudan. Upon finishing her deaconess training, Pat was called to Zion in 2009 to continue that work. When in the United States, Pat is busy traveling and talking about Hands of Mercy in churches all over the country. When in Fort Wayne, she leads women’s activities at Zion, Bible studies, and helps in the mercy work of Zion.