![]() ![]() ![]() Indeed, the pastor shortage in the ELCA comes as an increasing number of pastors in general revealed in a recent study that they are considering quitting their jobs due to challenges such as stress, loneliness, political divisions and other worries like their church being in decline. “The ELCA is hitting a ‘retirement wave’ where pastors ordained in the '70s and '80s are at or over retirement age and this is leading to an even greater shortage since those decades were the most recent height of pastors entering ministry,” he continued, noting that there is also a “critical shortage of pastors who are bilingual who can minister to the diversity of communities in our area, notably Spanish-speaking and Asian communities.” Bishop Paul Egensteiner of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America | Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church For this reason, our churches end up waiting longer than any of us wants to for a new pastor,” Egensteiner said. “We, also, are experiencing a shortage and have been for some time. ![]() “I’m sure COVID had some part to play in it.”īishop Paul Egensteiner, who leads the Metropolitan New York Synod of the ELCA, told CP in a statement Tuesday that the denomination has been hit very hard with a “retirement wave” and his synod was no exception. And then you have what they call baby boomers going into retirement,” she said. “I’m assuming that it’s probably because there’s not as many individuals going into ministry and therefore not attending seminary. When asked what she thinks was the reason behind the pastor shortage, Rupe said she believes people are no longer as attracted to ministry as they were in the past and the COVID-19 pandemic was a big shock to the profession. It’s not always the same pastor,” Rupe said. It’s just typically a different pastor each week. The church now routinely reaches out to a list of 10 to 12 retired and lay pastors to see who might be available to preach each week. So as they wait to get a full-time pastor again, Rupe said the church has had to get creative to source preachers on Sundays. “Our pastor resigned and took a position at another organization in September and so we’ve been in the call process since that time.”Īt the Montana Synod of the ELCA, 35 pastor positions remain unfilled, LaVe told KTVQ. “The shortage, that’s what they’re telling us from the synod,” Nancy Rupe, the church’s office administrator who now runs the daily operations of the church with more than 260 active members, told The Christian Post on Tuesday. With a national shortage of “at least 600” pastors in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America under which the Atonement Lutheran Church operates, according to lay leader Kristin LaVe, it might be some time before their wait for a new pastor is over. Since their former Pastor Darren Paulson resigned last September as the COVID-19 pandemic raged into its second year, congregants of Atonement Lutheran Church in Billing Heights, Montana, have been waiting patiently for their local synod to replace him. ![]() | Facebook/Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton’s reelection was announced on the first ballot at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly on Tuesday, Augin Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |