A Renewal of Mission and Ministry

Sometimes, things happen in life that feel like more than normal occurrences. I call those Holy Spirit moments. I want to share with you about a Holy Spirit moment and opportunity that has been brewing and is about to come to fruition here at Prince of Peace. During the Church Council meeting last March, Pastor John was giving his report. He talked about his excitement to share in former Vicar Dan’s ordination (the ceremony at which a seminarian becomes a pastor and can serve their own church). He also shared his hopes that one day we might get back to the mission of having vicars in our congregation. The next week, I received an email from Trinity Lutheran Seminary wondering if we are interested in having a vicar at our congregation, beginning this upcoming fall 2023. With the discernment of the staff and Church Council, we have decided to move down this path.

There is a hymn that we sing from time to time titled “Lord, Let My Heart Be Good Soil.” Prince of Peace has been good soil, raising up and training several ministry leaders over the years. We are fortunate to have a structure in place that allows someone coming to learn and grow as a pastor to get a plethora of experiences. 

The way we do things with this new vicar will look a bit different than the way we’ve run things in the past. First, Trinity offers an MDiv program that they call a 2x2 MDiv. The seminarians do two years of coursework then spend two years at their internship sites, with intensive courses sprinkled over those two internship years. This means that the new vicar will be here for almost two years (Sept. 2023 - May 2025), instead of the one year that we’ve had with them in the past. This program length has the advantage of allowing the intern to form deeper relationships and more authentically experience what ministry is like.

Second, while Pastor John has led the vicar program in the past, I will be supervising the education of this next vicar. This will be my first opportunity to have a vicar, and I am excited to have the honor of guiding this seminarian as they grow in their ministry skills.

Lastly, I have heard about all the great support that Prince of Peace has shown the vicar in the past. I am eager to see the ways that you all live out your faith by helping care for and learn from this future church leader. I hope that we can continue this ministry into the future of growing leaders for Christ’s Church.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Tim