Editor’s note: This letter announces a new position established to support those individuals in discernment about a seminary education. Pastor Christine Belfrey will fill that role in the Minneapolis Area Synod. 

Dear Friends,

As leaders of the ELCA, we all believe that God continues to call people into rostered ministry. As the church, and the world around us, continues to change at a rapid pace – the call to serve our church remains. How do we help more people consider and respond to God’s call on their life?

In collaboration with all seven of the ELCA Seminaries, Fund for Leaders is experimenting with a new Discernment Advocate role. This is a temporary, 6 month, part-time position. The hope is that the person in this role will facilitate connections across the church so that people in discernment have multiple points of contact on their discernment journey, potentially leading them to seminary sooner, rather than later in life.

The hope is that Pastor Christine will be able to connect with folks whose primary ELCA relationship may not be their synod, and then refer them to you for continued discernment. She will be reaching out to camp staff, campus ministers, congregational leaders, etc. That said, we hope that communication will be a two-way street! If you have inquirers that you have repeatedly followed up with to no avail, or younger folks who you think would benefit from this as a first step before “officially” discerning with you, feel free to refer them to Christine so that she can connect them with an online discernment group if that is not a resource you currently make available. These free online groups will include 3-4 people in discernment and will be led by an ELCA rostered leader. Promoting these groups, which many synods do not have, will be one of Jordan’s main tasks. We hope this will help them take the next step and they will then move forward with you in the Candidacy Process.

In addition to identifying any potential candidates, please also identify any “influencers” in your synod that Christine should be in touch with. These are well connected people in your synod who consistently find themselves encouraging people to consider how God is calling them to serve the church. Christine would be thrilled to speak with them and make sure they are aware of all the various discernment resources available, as well as all the programs our seminaries offer – particularly ones outside the mid-west that might not be as familiar because they are in another region.

Please don’t hesitate to be in touch with Pastor Christine (Christine.BelfreyJohnson@elca.org)  or myself (Marissa.krey@elca.org) if you have any questions. Also… we are still looking for rostered leaders to lead the online groups. If you can recommend leaders from your synod who would help ensure we have a diverse group of discernment mentors, please send me those names ASAP and I will reach out to see if they are interested.

Thank you for all you do to lift up leaders for our church! It is a privilege and joy to partner with you in this endeavor.

Peace and Blessings,
Marissa Krey
Director, Fund for Leaders