Pastor Leadership Transition
After more than 15 years of leadership and service to Good Shepherd, Pastor Kathy Nolte announced she is moving on from Good Shepherd and taking a full time role with the ELCA Metro Chicago Synod. Good Shepherd Leadership has begun the process to find an interim pastor and to form a call committee. Visit this page for future updates as we move through the transition process and search for our next pastoral leaders.
Transition Experience Share Session
Each congregation’s transition experience following the departure of their pastor is unique. However, there is great learning that comes from each experience which can bring great value when applied to future periods of transition. To that end, the Transition Leadership Team is eager to gather the input of members of the Good Shepherd community who have previously experienced periods of pastoral transition at Good Shepherd or any other congregation. What occurred during these times of past transition that Good Shepherd should consider incorporating (or avoiding) in our future planning? Please join fellow members of the Good Shepherd community for this Transition Experience Share Session on Tuesday, June 4 at 7 pm. We’ll gather in person at 611 Randolph and online via Zoom for those who are unable to join in person. Please sign up on the Prayers and More sheet. For more information, contact Transition Process facilitator, Mark Ledogar at events@goodshepherdlc.org.
Pastoral Leadership Plan During Transition
May Update
Celebration
An important start to this time of transition was celebrating Pastor Kathy’s 15+ years of leadership and service. Mission accomplished! Thanks to the many people who participated in the celebrations of Pastor Kathy’s ministry on April 13 and 14, and special thanks to the dozens of people who organized and delivered these meaningful community celebrations.
Separation
As Good Shepherd begins this time of pastoral leadership transition beginning with Pastor Kathy’s departure on April 15, it will be helpful for our community to identify and communicate specific areas of change that require us to approach things differently. One of these areas is our individual and collective interactions with Pastor Kathy.
When a pastor leaves a congregation, it is not appropriate for them to continue to function in the pastoral role. For example, Pastor Kathy should not be asked to preside for Good Shepherd worship and related events such as baptisms, funerals and weddings. Pastor Kathy should not be asked to provide pastoral care including hospital and home visitations, counseling or any related activities. And, Pastor Kathy should not be involved in the call process or comment on candidates.
Although the relationship with our pastor, Kathy, has come to an end, maintaining our individual friendships with Kathy is certainly appropriate. Social media connections with one another are appropriate as long as we interact with Kathy as our friend and not as our pastor.
While this separation can be difficult, it’s a line that needs to be drawn to provide our community the space we need to transition to the next chapter of pastoral leadership, and to give Pastor Kathy the space she needs to begin her new ministry role. Our support of one another and our congregation in respecting these boundaries is an important part of this transition time – filled with grace, gratitude and the greatness that comes through our willingness to embrace what is new and different while holding fast to the timelessness of God’s love, God’s presence and God’s promise for our future.
Should you have any questions about this or future transitional norms, please contact your Council and the Transition Leadership Team.
Coming up in May
During the month of May, the Transition Leadership Team and Council will meet with our representative from the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to receive an update on the process and timing for assignment of an interim pastor, and to learn more about the process for calling future pastoral leader(s) to Good Shepherd. Information related to this time of pastor leadership transition is available under the “About” tab on Good Shepherd’s website. Click here to access the Pastor Leadership Transition page and keep this page bookmarked to get the most updated information about this time of transition.
We welcome Pastor Kelly Nieman Anderson, Pastor Anna Roper and Pastor Kerstin Hedlund as our worship leaders in May.
Who to Call
For pastoral care for life events such as illness, death, birth, baptism, trauma, transition, etc., please contact Pastor Kerstin (kerstin@goodshepherdlc.org).
For any questions related to the operations of congregation or facility, please contact Office Administrator Kimberly Adami-Hasegawa at churchoffice@goodshepherdlc.org or 708-848-4741.
For any questions related to family and children ministries, please contact Deaconess Debbie Speer (ChristianEd@goodshepherdlc.org) or 708-848-4741.
For any questions or feedback related to this time of transition, including suggestions and concerns, please contact Council President Gail Frost or Transition Process Facilitation Team leader Mark Ledogar. You can find their contact information in the directory or by contacting the church office.
April Update
The Congregation Council has formed three teams to guide the efforts of the transition period:
Call Committee. This team develops the congregation profile including future state aspirations as informed by the visioning process; completes appropriate reports and documents as required by the Synod Call Process; and facilitates the candidate search and selection process. The Call Committee is led by Troy Koch.
Process Facilitation Team. This team serves as facilitator for transition planning efforts including discussions, meetings, processes and related communication; ensures current day leadership and management of the congregation as provided by the Council is coordinated with future state and visioning efforts; identifies voids within congregation functions and brings these voids to the attention of the Council for consideration and response; and mentors and support members of the interim ministry team. The Process Facilitation Team is led by Mark Ledogar.
Transition Leadership Team. This team provides overall guidance for the transition period, ensures coordination among all congregation leaders, and leads the congregation-wide visioning activities. The team includes Gail Frost (Congregation Council President), Troy Koch (Call Committee Chair), Mark Ledogar (leader of the Process Facilitation Team) and Deaconess Debbie Speer (staff representative).
More information about participation on the Call Committee and Process Facilitation Team will be available starting May 1. In the meantime, please contact Gail, Troy, Debbie, or Mark with questions.
Initial conversations with the Synod’s interim ministry team are signaling the likely placement of an interim minister after June 1. Pastor Kerstin and Lynn Railsback (Chair of the Worship, Music and the Arts Committee) are maintaining a worship leadership plan and have scheduled clergy to lead worship through June. Additional ministry leadership roles provided by Pastor Kathy have been documented and leadership of these various functions has been identified and engaged.
All transitions – including pastoral leadership transitions – can be very emotional, stressful, and scary. But times of transition are also an opportunity to recast a vision, reenergize hope and reengage the community. Please join one another in prayer-filled embrace of all of these emotions and opportunities, with the assurance that “God’s got us” and we’ve got one another in this time, and for the time that lies ahead.
February/March Update
Pastor Kathy announced her intention to leave Good Shepherd and move to the ELCA Metro Chicago Synod. To read her letter to the congregation, click here. To read Council President, Gail Frost’s letter to the congregation, click here.