New Things
One of the unexpected gifts of ministry is that we get to begin again.
Sometimes that beginning is joyful. Sometimes it’s intimidating. Usually it’s both.
My first call after seminary took me to Edinburgh, Scotland. It was one of the most wonderful seasons of my life. I was immersed in a new culture, a “new” old congregation (more than 900 years old!), and a new way of seeing the Church. It was also, at times, one of the loneliest seasons of my ministry.
Years later, I accepted a second call in Lincoln, Nebraska. Different congregation. Different country. Different season of life. Yet many of the same challenges remained. Once again, I was learning names, earning trust, discerning culture, and finding my footing.
Summer is often a season of pastoral transitions. Every new beginning carries both promise and uncertainty. We celebrate the excitement of a new call, but we don’t always acknowledge the courage it takes to start over.
Over nearly thirty years of ministry, I’ve realized that what sustained me through those transitions wasn’t simply experience. It was stepping away from the fishbowl of ministry, having trusted colleagues with whom I could be my full self, belonging to a denomination that invested in my growth, and having wise coaches who reminded me that almost everything is figure-out-able.
Looking back, what I would have valued most was being invited into a community intentionally created for moments like these.
That’s why a team of executive presbyters and I gathered three years ago at Allerton Park to design Wellspring. And it’s why Wellspring has my heart.
Its story, however, begins even earlier.
Long before I arrived, my predecessor, Carol McDonald, created New Pastors, one of the Synod of Lincoln Trails’ most treasured ministries. It nurtured pastors, forged lifelong friendships, and shaped leaders across—and beyond—our synod. Many pastors still speak of it with deep gratitude.
Wellspring builds on Carol’s remarkable legacy. It is a three-year investment in pastors beginning a first call or a new season of ministry. Through annual October residencies, monthly executive coaching, spiritual renewal, practical leadership development, and a cohort of trusted colleagues, Wellspring helps pastors not simply survive a new beginning, but flourish.
Isaiah reminds us that God is always doing a new thing. Sometimes that new thing springs up in a new call. Sometimes it springs up in a new friendship, a trusted coach, or a community that reminds us we don’t have to do ministry alone.
This October, we’ll welcome a third Wellspring cohort alongside the first two. My prayer is that every participant experiences the Synod of Lincoln Trails as the synod that says,
“We’ve been expecting you. Come join us. We believe in you. We’re investing in you. And you don’t have to do this alone.”
Grace and peace,
Sara
Synod Executive
Synod of Lincoln Trails
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