3 Years A Pastor

Three years ago today my world became very big and very small all at once as I was ordained a pastor, called through the people of Augustana Lutheran Church. Feeling the love again through the pictures and memories: my family showed up supportive and wondered what this would mean; friends and neighbors showed up whether or not the church makes sense to them; church friends showed up knowing the wild, disrupting and sustaining force of faith in community; clergy friends showed up knowing the complex joy and challenge of congregational life; and new Augustana friends showed up in support and curiosity about their new pastor. God's love showed up through all these people on that day. Crazy!

Being a pastor is surreal - looking out at everyone over the pulpit or across the communion table, proclaiming faith, hope, and love in the name of Jesus feels like a dream from which I don't want to wake. And being a pastor is real, oh so real - real people, real stories, real love, real hours, real grief, real disagreement, real mess, real life.  I'm exhausted.  I'm grateful.  I'm ready for more.


Charge from Ordination:

Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries. (1 Corinthians 4:1)

Caitlin, care for God's people, bear their burdens, and do not betray their confidence. So discipline yourself in life and teaching that you preserve the truth, giving no occasion for false security or illusory hope. Witness faithfully in word and deed to all people. Give and receive comfort as you serve within the church. And be of good courage, for God has called you, and your labor in the Lord is not in vain.