August 9, 2024

A busy summer

Every year, I’m surprised by how quickly the summer flies by. This wasn’t always the case. When I was a child, it seemed to last a blessed lifetime. The sunny days were endless–filled with time for swimming, biking, visiting family and–most importantly–eating lots of ice cream. That all changed when I became an adult. Now the summer is over before it even starts. Part of that is the general passage of time which seems to speed up as you age, but I think another part is that my summers are much busier now. Between work, sports, and vacations squeezed in between, September comes all too quickly on the heels of June. 

This summer is proving particularly busy for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s busy with very good things, but busy all the same. I’ve had several ultimate frisbee tournaments, I went to UNITE with our youth, and next week I’ll be heading to the East Coast for a two-week vacation with family. Another thing I’m cramming into this full summer is completing my licensing paper. 

As part of growing into the role of your Associate Pastor of Children, Youth, and Families, I am seeking licensure in our denomination. Licensing is the first major stop on the journey to ordination. This is a rigorous, multi-phase process. After completing the initial assessments, I’m now working on a paper that will help me articulate my understanding of the Covenant’s beliefs and how I resonate with them. I’ll then be interviewed in the fall by our conference. If I do well in the interview, I’ll receive a provisional license which will tide me over until the annual meeting, at which time I will receive the full license, God willing. This year, I’ll also take a series of classes through North Park Seminary that will teach me more about our denomination and help me to find my place in it. A busy summer will turn into a busy fall. 

I am a true procrastinator and still have quite a bit of work to do on my paper before the August 31 due date. I humbly ask for your prayers as I wrestle with the questions posed to me and seek to represent myself and our church well in this process. Please pray that the busy process of pursuing licensure will help me, paradoxically, to slow down and spend some serious time in study, prayer, and reflection that will strengthen my relationship with Christ and help me to serve you, the church family that has given me this opportunity, better. 

Grace and peace,

~ Pastor Lauren