I officially started my new call as the head pastor on July 1st, 2022. I am all official now, reverend and everything. It has been a really long road for me to get to where I am and I am so thankful to be here. Overall, the people have been extremely welcoming; excited, even, to have someone say “yes” to …
We jump back into the question of holding space and self-care without sacrificing the ethos of the pastoral office. As pastors we help shoulder the burden of trauma carried by members of our community. The cost of this work can be overwhelming. Yet, to do this work well we must take care of ourselves without feeling the guilt of our …
Holding space for people is part of the pastor’s job. But how do we, as pastors, hold space for others while taking care of ourselves? At what cost do pastors do this work? What happens to the pastor when we hold space (to focus on the healing of others) for those in times of hardship and pain? I wish I …
It’s been a little over 6 months since my blog post, Single White Female Pastor, and just over a year since I started this online dating thing. I wrote that original post because in today’s Christian culture there seems to be an unwritten bias that the married life is more important, valued, and desired than the single life. The response …
I have lead many trips for churches over the years. The largest trip I led, for a large and well funded church, had about 65 students and 20 adults. For some reason I thought it was a good idea to take this hoard of people to sleep in tents, without real showers or restrooms, to build houses in Mexico. We …
I have just recently started working a new church in December 2016. It is lovely congregation, small, older, traditional and kind. I am the age of most of the congregants grandchildren. So far, everything is going great. Yet, when starting at a new church it can get very overwhelming and isolating. Overwhelming because you are constantly learning a new system, sub-culture, …
I am a heterosexual, 33 year-old, single woman. I happen to also be in the process of becoming a fully ordained pastor. I am starting the process of ordination with the PCUSA. I went to seminary in Seattle. I’ve been in ministry in one way, shape or another for as long as I can remember. I have a strong sense …
Dip your toe in. Cold shivers up your leg, all the way to your shoulders. Excitement and fear flood over you as you stand in line. As you wait, you think of all the reasons why you should get out of line: It’s chilly. I might flop. They may laugh. There is a slight breeze. Yet, you stay in line. …