Gretchen Mundinger, minister of music at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church in New York City, has studied the differences between urban and rural minis- try as part of the ELCA Diakonia program. One of the challenges of ministry in “the city that never sleeps” is that residents work long and arduous hours, making get- ting to church more difficult. “Also, there is a constant flux of people moving in and out of neighbor- hoods and boroughs. Very few people stay in one place for very long,” she said.
AMY C. ELLIOTT
Family business N
Father, daughter serve as lay leaders in Montana, New York
By Julie B. Sevig
either John nor Gretchen Mundinger started out in the family business. Tat “business,” of course, is ministry. Te
ELCA is filled with family members who are in it—both clergy and lay. Tis father and daughter evolved into lay ministry positions in completely different venues—John in Montana and Gretchen in New York City.
Gretchen leſt Helena, Mont., for New York 11 years ago to pursue
a career in opera. She didn’t land on the stage, but she did land the soprano soloist position at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church in New York City, where she is now minister of music. Her dad, John, took early retirement from Montana’s Fish, Wild-
life & Parks Department. In June, at age 67, he’ll be commissioned into the Montana Synod Lay Professional Associates (LPA) program. His daughter, 34, is part of the Metropolitan New York Synod’s Diakonia program. Both lay ministry programs are variations of the ELCA’s synodically authorized training program. As one of her projects, Gretchen researched the differences of
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mission and outreach in urban New York and rural Montana, where she grew up. It was those “growing up” years in the church that shaped her—and her dad. “It was a constant thread in our lives,” she said. “I still sing the same hymn to my
kids that my dad sang to me,” she continued. Te hymn is from their German Lutheran heritage: “I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb.” But it was the consistency of
“church life” that saw her through even the tumultuous teen years: church attendance that didn’t waver, serving as lector, appreciating ritual and the music. Even at age 10 or 11 she loved church music. Like many, “the seeds were planted early on. It was just part of our life,” she said. Still, no one was as surprised as
Gretchen that she landed in a church job. And perhaps it’s just as unusual to have a wildlife biologist preaching and teaching Bible class—even in Montana.
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