Page 4 - February 2019 Traveler

From the Pastor’s Study…

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Most, if not all, of you by now know that as of February 10 I will no longer serve as your pas-
tor and that I have accepted a call to serve as an Assistant to the Bishop in charge of Opera-
tions and Governance. I take this new call with mixed feelings. On the one hand I am sad to
leave the good people of Trinity, but at the same time I look forward to what God is calling me
to in the ministry ahead of me. The hard and difficult parts of leaving though do weigh heavy
on my heart, as I walk down memory lane thinking about all the ministry we have done to-
gether in Christ’s name. I am grateful for the time we have had together these past six years
and I will remember you all with great fondness.

When a pastor leaves her call, congregations often go through a time of transition that seems
rather tense. This is normal of course and we can expect a certain amount of anxiety as we
move forward. This process however, has been made easier by the work of our Bishop, Jeff
Clements. He has gone above and beyond to create a transition proposal for Trinity that
seeks to provide continued pastoral leadership even in the face of some difficult challenges.

As you know, there are 35 congregations within our Synod that have pastoral openings, which
also means that the few pastors that we do have who are willing to do interim ministry are
already fully engaged. While that could be very problematic for Trinity, Bishop has created a
proposal which would allow the Congregation Council to enter into an agreement with Sharon
Beksel to serve as a Synodically Authorized Minister with me serving as her supervisor. This
particular scenario, while provided for in the ELCA constitution, is extremely new to the
Northern Illinois Synod, but one in which I think will work well for us.

When Bishop shared this possibility with the congregation, those present offered their con-
cern for Sharon as she potentially shifts from providing a very part-time support for pastoral
care to a full-time, day-to-day parish ministry. I am so touched by the care and concern ex-
pressed to Sharon and delighted by how many people came forward to offer their prayers and
help. It is indeed a major shift in work volume and intensity, but it is also something that was

thoroughly discussed prior to the proposal presented to Trinity. Sharon herself was, as all
candidates do, taken through a vetting process. There was a several page application process,
essay questions to complete, a background check to complete, an interview process by the
Bishop and a meeting with the Assistant to the Bishop in charge of candidacy, as well as multi-

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