Dear First Lutheran,
In August 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, First Lutheran took a leap of faith to call me as Associate Pastor for Youth and Young Adults and to serve part-time in shared ministry with Nebraska Lutheran Campus Ministries, Inc. (NeLCM) through a generous grant of the Immanuel Vision Foundation as Campus Pastor at Campus Lutheran. My family and I excitedly accepted the call to serve God and God’s people in Kearney, and our time here has been filled with many holy moments, plenty of challenges, and much joy-filled ministry.
Recently, I have been in conversation with Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in the Metro Chicago Synod, and they are in the process of extending a call to me to serve as their Associate Pastor for Engagement with a focus on congregational care across all generations. I have prayed, cried, and thought deeply about this possibility and have discerned alongside my family that this call is the next faithful step in my vocation as pastor.
This letter serves to share I will be leaving my call as Associate Pastor for Youth and Young Adults at First Lutheran Church as well as in my role as Campus Pastor at Campus Lutheran this summer. By God’s grace, this gift to journey with the youth and young adults in both places has been a holy one. The relationships we have forged together hold permanent residence in my heart. The sacred moments, the laughter, the silliness, and the joys and sorrows I have shared with FLY and the young adults of Campus Lutheran have shaped me and will always be part of me.
Our last night of Dinner Church together at Campus Lutheran will be Thursday, May 11, 2023. My last weekend in worship at First Lutheran will be June 17-18, 2023.
I will lead the First Lutheran Youth mission trip to Nashville, TN, June 24-July 1 and will conclude my call with First and Campus Lutheran effective July 3, 2023. I look forward to celebrating what God has done in our shared ministry in the months ahead!
Kearney, Nebraska will always have a piece of my heart. Ministry among you has formed me into the pastor I am today as I prepare to extend God’s love and care in a new place. Thanks be to God for each of you for such a gift of grace!
In hope, Pastor Elisabeth
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