The Young Clergy Women Project
A network of the youngest ordained clergy women.
“Overly educated, though not overly snobby. Interested in Friday night dates and Saturday adventures to quirky festivals while sharing a funnel cake. Foodie (but not a cook) with opinions on Bluegrass, bourbon, and Big 10 basketball. Easily won over by the perfect Manhattan or a glass of Chandon during cocktail hour, but not a homebody. … Side-show [...]
A few weeks ago, I found my old diary. I had not opened it since sometime during my high school years, and reading through each entry was like going back in time. Secrets were shared. Relationships were started, lost, and then started again. Dreams and ambitions were recorded for posterity’s sake. As I read through [...]
We met on a Saturday night just before Christmas. It’s something I never do. I usually tuck my little preacher self safely into bed at an early hour on Saturday night. But, for some reason, I suggested that we meet at the local wine bar for a drink on a Saturday night. Just one drink. [...]
As this is my first writing for the Young Women Clergy Project, I have finally decided to put nerves aside and set fingers to buttons and begin typing. There were many different subjects I wanted to cover, but of course those would have been too serious and challenging, and really, when beginning a relationship – [...]
Resolution: Do one thing each week that is fun, new, or challenging. In ministry it can be easy sometimes to fall down the rabbit hole of church life with the cycle of the liturgical seasons, meetings, budgets, agendas, and more meetings; whether male or female, single or married it can happen to any of us. [...]
I have been fortunate to have been healthy most of my life. But in this year of turning thirty, my health has really taken a turn. I try not to think about any of what I’ve experienced over the last year in relation to the big 3-0, but the thought does creep in now and [...]
Since my 25th birthday, I have lived in eight different places. Included in these were a move from far south to far north for seminary, then to a first call deeper into the northeast, and even a touch deeper with the call I accepted almost four years ago. Even within that final move there was [...]
I am someone who doesn’t neatly fit into the many stereotypical boxes provided for me. Because of this I often find myself in the position of navigating the assumptions of others. But I absolutely cannot stand the idea of constantly qualifying and justifying in anticipation of outside assumptions: “I’m a pastor but I’m not one [...]
A few weeks into my first full-time pastorate, I called one of the previous pastors of the congregation, hoping he could provide answers to some weird church happenings. After the purely professional chat ended came the question. He tried to be subtle, smooth even, when he asked. Most men, though, are not known for their [...]
I never expected to get divorced. Certainly not after being ordained and having a child. And most definitely not while in the most intense phase of a clergy job search. I seem to specialize in crazy all-at-once life transitions. In six months in 2008, I had a baby, was ordained deacon, got my first clergy [...]