[AnnaE]

I am a life-long Lutheran...ELCA. Currently a foster mom through Lutheran Social Service (as was my mom in the 1970's), also an adoptive mom and bio mom. Blessings! Donna (my mom was AnnaE)

[AnnaE]

Sorry, I posted twice. I don't know what I am doing! I live in MN..a suburb of St. paul. Serving as a Pastor of 2 congregations would leave you little time for this..its very involved! Donna

[kakuehl]

Originally Posted by AnnaE

I am a life-long Lutheran...ELCA. Currently a foster mom through Lutheran Social Service (as was my mom in the 1970's), also an adoptive mom and bio mom. Blessings! Donna (my mom was AnnaE)

Sorry I didn't catch the Donna the first time... just the 2 AnnaE's! (I'm also ELCA - from the LCA side)

[kakuehl]

We posted at the same time... happens a lot to me! You live in a very "Lutheran" area. I live in Somerset County PA which has more Lutheran churches than any other denomination. The difference is we're very rural with lots of small congregations (and not enough pastors.)

[AnnaE]

Kathy, I forgot to mention I am from MN...A very Lutheran state!

[kakuehl]

You belong to one of the few synods that has a waiting list of pastors interested in a call there!

[AnnaE]

Wow! That's interesting, Kathy. I guess not too surprising.Blessings for your day! Donna

[dkb60]

Our association is one of the few if not the only one that has more pastors available for call then calls available. We get our "pick" so to speak.
D.

[kakuehl]

Bumping....

[zxczxcasdasd]

Kathy,

I should have bitten before now.. but

Hats off to the Lutheran girls who followed up Bachelors' in Music with seminary degrees.

I'm normally not a smileys person. I must be a little loopy because I'm .

I ended up choosing not to pursue ordination with ELCA because of the residency requirement for the MDiv. It would have meant leaving my kids for long periods, or uprooting them- neither of which I was willing to do. How did you deal with that?

I keep yapping that they're going to continue to be at a shortage for pastors- especially women, if they don't realize that the young single person or the young marrieds with no kids is no longer the standard for becoming a pastor. It's more and more a second career or a later-in-life decision. Until denoms figure out how to adjust the seminary model to include people with families who aren't willing to uproot, they will be limiting themselves. ...stepping off the soapbox...

Of course for me, it's worked for the best. I've found the perfect blend of my two loves in a job that lets me set my own hours and help others develop their gifts.

See, I'm loopy. I've let down my dignity guard. It's definitely time for bed. Too much cold medicine.

And also with you on your son becoming a father...very similar to my DH. We have a picture of him holding his high school diploma (from an LHS!) in one hand and 1-week-old DS in the other. Toxic marriage lasted long enough for birth and very early infancy. Of course, our stories end differently. I was happily finishing high school at another LHS in a different city and became mom to DS 9 yrs later (post Music degree, pre seminary degree). And frankly I feel it's very redeeming for DH that the little baby in that photo will be graduating from that very same LHS this June as a fine young man.

We got a got a good belly laugh that DH received an invitation to join the LHS alumni board based on his "exceptional involvement while a student there" (their words in the letter). Ummm. Yeah, he was the bad boy who ended up being the senior yr scandal with the pregnant girlfriend he married halfway through the school yr. But...Beauty for Ashes right? Now that that very baby is walking through their halls at 6 ft tall and they've seen DH follow through from first stepping up as a 17/18 yr old dad through being the 36-yr old father of a great kid, they've all decided he must be the best guy ever. Guess what? They're right!

I've never heard of a kid having 3 pastors for parents!! NowTHAT'S a PK!

We always joke about Lutherans being so "incestuous" - everyone intermarries and ends up somewhere in the Lutheran machine. Of course, most of our friends are LCMS. So I get to rib them about "the promised land" (Nebraska) and "the mother ship" (St. Louis).

Okay enough with the Eine Feiste Burg. Time for bed. Peace.

[kakuehl]

Yeah! Life is full of ironies! I don't think I've mentioned that D's bdad's father was also a pastor. So in a sense he's a pk of a pk.

I lived 65 miles from the seminary when I was going. I did what I called quasi-commuting. I would go down on Monday and stay until Wdnesday (my sister lives about 8 miles form the seminary). And then drive down and back on Fridays. I was gone 2 nights a week but my kids would say I was never home. When I did CPE I was away all week.

[zxczxcasdasd]

The closest ELCA seminary for us was several hundred miles away- about an hour flight or a full day's drive. Too far to commute in terms of both time and money. I could handle a week or so away, but not a semester. Plus, one of my kids was an infant. If they had been older, it might have been different. As it was, I completed the MAT at a large seminary nearby- with a 45 minute commute- with a self-directed emphasis in theology of worship. Everything has worked out for the best!

Glad you could make it work!

[kathleenmarie]

Hi my name is Kathy and my husband and I are in the process of adopting from Guatemala. We are waiting for CIS clearance so we can then be ready for the referral. I'm finding it difficult to wait. I'm very happy to have found this space and to meet other Lutherans like me. I have been going to the same Lutheran church my whole life. It's a pleasure to "meet" you all!

[kakuehl]

It's always nice to meet another Kathy. (LOL) It's good to "meet" you too. I've been a member of Lutheran congregations between PA and Arizona although most of my life has been spent in PA. I grew up (mostly) in the Lutheran Church in Waynesboro,PA; I recently had the privilege and pleasure of leading worship there. (One of the ironies in my life is that my bson's adad is the current pastor of church where I grew up!)

I hope your adoption process goes well. From what I read here on the forums, it can be quite frustrating!

zxczxcasdasd - my children were 11 and 13 when I started seminary. I graduated from seminary 20 years after I graduated from college -- then I had to wait a year for a call because I thought (silly me) that I should contiunue to live with my husband and children. I agree that the ELCA has yet to really address the issues of 2nd career pastors although more courses are now available online, etc.

[dkb60]

Where did you live in Arizona?

d.