The Young Clergy Women Project
A network of the youngest ordained clergy women.
On one recent Tuesday, these are the things people gave me: one bag of figs, one homemade toy tractor, one piece of chocolate cake, and one giant box of saltine crackers. The figs were from some church members with a tree in their yard. Turns out my daughter loves figs. The toy tractor was a [...]
Kassie The Church has always been central to my relationship with my husband, Travis. We were both in seminary when we met at the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) General Assembly in 2009. We immediately clicked over our similar theologies and love of church camp. When we started dating in the fall of 2010, we [...]
Churches are full of people who behave badly and make poor choices and screw things up for themselves and for the whole community. There. The cat’s out of the bag, right? I knew this going into ministry. I learned all sorts of helpful stuff in seminary and field education about family systems, healthy communication, and [...]
“Wait, you mean you still haven’t fired him yet?” I burst out at my colleague. She was having a meeting with her music director. The same music director. The same director, who, over a year before, she’d told me was impossible to work with and so she was forming a plan to ask him to resign. [...]
I’m not a seasoned pastor by any means, but this list is full of what I’ve learned at the beginning of my career in ministry. The lessons, both painful and enlightening, are still fresh in my mind, so here they are, written as for a new pastor: 1. Network. Having a group of other pastors [...]
There is a great divide in my closet. There are the conservative, mostly black and white and shades of grey professional clothes that go with my black clergy shirts and white collars. And there are the more colorful, fun dresses, sweaters, tops and blue jeans that I wear when I am off duty. While a [...]
The Young Clergy Women Project celebrates our multitude of tasks, callings and parts of every day life. Below is a small collection of photos submitted that demonstrate young clergy women in the midst of daily life. Grace Pritchard Burson: Me presiding over a “Wednesday School” Communion service with our young families Phyllis L. Stutzman: This is at [...]
That girl inside you who wants everyone to like her? I hesitate to say you need to kill her, but sometimes she can be a major distraction. She may keep you from telling someone their unhealthy behavior is unacceptable. She may focus you on the needs of individuals in your church at the expense of the needs of the church community as a whole. She may keep you focused on the squeaky wheels in your community when it’s your unselfish, healthy leaders who need your time, attention, and investment…
Standing behind our piano bench, which was positioned carefully in the front of the living room, I organized a small plate of crackers and a glass of apple juice. I had one of my favorite books of children hymns on one side, next to my favorite pink Bible – the one given to me by my church, with my name in gold on the front. I wore a cross necklace – a stitched one given to me by Grandpa “Mac” and a blanket around my neck, allowing it to swoop down, reaching far past my knees.
This past year, every few months, I met with a group of young clergy with the Lewis Fellows. Every time we gathered, we began with a check-in where I got to explain once again: I’m still searching. My intention by participating in the Lewis Fellows was to offer a transition – with a built-in support [...]