While I was in Divinity School and throughout my discernment process for ordination, my one prayer was, “Please God, do not let me end up a solo clergyperson in a small church.” Over and over, I heard horror stories of small churches run like oligarchies that chewed up their priests and spit them out. I was more familiar with the large, program-sized churches – churches with semi-professional music programs, multiple clergy on staff, Christian formation programs that hosted brilliant scholars and famous preachers, and where most people in the pews were sheltered from the politicking and personality clashes of the leadership. So I prayed my prayer and much to my dismay, it went unanswered.
When the bishop’s office called to ask if I might be interested in a priest-in-charge position in a small church about 35 miles east of Nashville, I found myself saying yes. I was terrified but hopeful, ready to put to use the skills and concepts that I had learned and practiced through my graduate degree program and a Clinical Pastoral Education residency. On my first Sunday, I parked my car next to the “Reserved” spot, only to be told later that it was reserved for me.
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