Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton (inset), Northeastern Ohio Synod, confers this spring with church council members of Zion Lutheran, Wooster, Ohio, about calling a pas- tor for their congregation.
long-term pastor to accept calls in certain synods.
And in the last few years, ELCA 20
number of congregations currently able to support pastors, the ability of the newly ordained to receive calls, and the availability of pastors to replace those who move or retire. Nationwide, 58 percent of ELCA congregations in 2008 had an average attendance of less than 100, gener- ally considered the number needed to support a pastor and a full program. Pastors come out of seminary today with considerable indebtedness and may not be able to afford taking a call in a low-paying congregation. If the congregation doesn’t have a parson- age, the pastor must find a way to buy/rent a house. Working spouses also can limit the ability of a seminary graduate or
22 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
officials say, pastors have been delaying retirement because of the Great Recession. Since each retire- ment triggers vacancies in other con- gregations, where the pastor leaves to take the place of the retiree, the development means there are fewer opportunities for calls. This slump in retirements is expected to end in the near future, but is having an impact on current congregational vacancies.
Calls for graduates Michael W. Rinehart, bishop of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, took part in the meeting to assign this year’s seminary graduates to regions (see page 25) and synods. He reported in his synod’s newsletter that about 203 of the 1,200 to 1,400 vacant ELCA congregations have indicated an interest in a new graduate. About
250 people will graduate from ELCA seminaries in 2011, and “quite a few of them have restrictions” on where they can go, Rinehart said. The conference ended up with about 209 candidates available for 203 vacancies, “about as close as I ever remember it,” he said. Rinehart said the “first call” is
critical for the pastor and congre- gations they serve. “I love getting young, committed leaders,” he wrote in the newsletter. But congregations in crisis or with dwindling resources can actually have a grave impact on a pastor’s success. “Our first call can set pastors up for a lifetime of healthy, energetic ministry,” he said. “Or it can disillu- sion them completely if they get in over their heads” or see no hope for the future.
Bishop Jessica R. Crist has five graduates assigned to the Montana Synod and believes they will have
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