May 27, 2024 Pastoral Update

Greetings friends,

Plans are in place for interim pastor staffing as we start the call process for our new Senior Pastor.

We are happy to announce that the Council has selected Pastor Peter Samuelson to serve as our Interim Lead Pastor. Pastor Peter is known to many of us from Pastor Deb Samuelson’s time as the Senior Pastor of Good Shepherd. Pastor Peter comes to us with great experience serving in interim ministry, having served numerous congregations as they moved through the period we are now in, known as the in-between time, to the call of their next Senior Pastor. Pastor Peter not only brings the type of interim pastor experience that the Council identified as important, but he is familiar with many of our staff and our members, which will help ensure that programs and ministries of Good Shepherd will continue to flourish. Pastor Peter will join us in late summer/early fall, first on a part-time basis as he completes another interim obligation, and then full-time in October, with some limited services this summer.  

Pastor Peter’s arrival is timed to match the completion of Pastor Jeff Barrow’s time with us. Pastor Jeff joined us in March 2023 as our Transition Pastor under a contract set to end late this summer. Pastor Jeff was brought on as Pastor Karl was returning from his medical leave to support Pastor Karl and our congregation during that unique time of uncertainty. Pastor Jeff’s compassionate heart and passion for finding opportunities to bring us together as a community - remember the corn roast! - have been exactly what we needed while waiting for Pastor Karl to assess his capacity to return to a full-time role. We are grateful that Pastor Jeff will continue to share his gifts with us through the summer.

Pastor Deb Bergstrand will be away this summer but has agreed to return part-time in the fall to support Pastor Peter. 

As stated in our last communication, the Council is committed to a call process that involves listening to each other, reflecting on who we are as a congregation, and taking the time necessary to call a pastor who is right for the vision of our congregation. To do this, the Council will assemble a Transition Committee before the congregation elects a Call Committee per our constitution. The Transition Committee will be asked to undertake the self-reflection phase of this call process. Information will be coming soon about the Transition Committee. We expect that the Transition Committee will begin its work later this summer under a process developed with guidance from Pastor Peter. The process for calling our next pastor will likely take about 12-18 months. 

Thank you for your interest and patience as we move with purpose into this new period for Good Shepherd. We encourage you to visit the NEXT page on the Good Shepherd website and ask that you prayerfully consider contributing to the mortgage challenge that you will find on that page.

With Gratitude,
Church Council