Grand Canyon Synod of the ELCA

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Congregation Transition Team 2021 update

2021 Assembly Reports: View reports for our 2021 assembly on our assembly report page and in this collection of blog posts.

View this report as PDF.

During 2019 and 2020, the Grand Canyon Synod Transition Team under the leadership of Bishop Hutterer, included Pastor Mark Holman and Dr Jerry Kingston. Pastor Holman retired at the end of 2020.

In 2021, the Grand Canyon Synod (GCS) and the Rocky Mountain Synod (RMS) entered into a collaborative partnership in their ministry to congregations in transition.

The GCS transition team is under the leadership of Bishop Hutterer, and now includes Pastor Sarah Moening (Director of Congregation Transition, RMS & GCS), Pastor Doris Nolan (Transition Administrator, GCS & RMS & GCS Transition Coach), Pastor Pat Reed (GCS Transition Coach) and Dr. Jerry Kingston (GCS Associate for Candidate Identification).  

The role of the Transition Coach is to accompany and coach a congregation through the transition process. The GCS Transition Coach guides a congregation through the process of rostered minister transition from resignation of the outgoing leader to installation of a new rostered leader, a process that generally takes 10 – 18 months to complete.

Congregations seeking a new pastor complete a Ministry Site Profile (MSP) that describes the congregation’s setting and ministries along with the qualifications and qualities they are seeking in their next rostered leader. (In the ELCA, a rostered leader is a pastor or a deacon.) Rostered leaders who are seeking new calls complete the Rostered Minister Profile (RMP). The ELCA maintains a nation-wide data base with the RMPs of the rostered leaders seeking new calls. 

From the ELCA’s database, Dr. Kingston maintains a regional data base of those candidates interested in serving in ELCA Region 2, which is comprised of five synods: GCS, RMS, Sierra Pacific, Southwest CA and Pacifica Synods. The information contained in a congregation’s MSP is compared with the information contained in the RMPs of rostered leaders and focuses on factors such as years of experience, required compensation, self-reported ministry strengths, foreign language capabilities, as well as other data. The goal is to locate 8-10 pastors or deacons whose RMPs match well with a congregation’s MSP.  Members of the Transition Team then carefully assess the profiles to determine the ‘best matches’ to recommend to Bishop Hutterer for consideration. The Bishop makes the final decision about which candidates are presented to the congregation’s call committee. 

Below is a list of congregations in transition since the last Assembly, June 2019.

Respectfully Submitted, 

Dr. Jerry Kingston, Rev. Doris Nolan, Rev. Patricia Reed


Congregations in Transition

Congregations and their status, by year.

  • Lutheran Campus Ministry, Tucson, AZ, Call accepted by Pr. Rebecca Boardman, 2019

  • Ascension, Paradise Valley, AZ, Call accepted by Pr. Randy Winsand, 2019

  • Community, Las Vegas, NV, Call accepted by Pr. Ben Bergren, 2019

  • Mount Cross, Payson, AZ, Call accepted by Prs. Linda & Cliff Hanus , 2019

  • Spirit of Grace, Surprise, AZ, Call accepted by Pr Scott Hackler, 2019

  • Santa Cruz, Tucson, AZ, Call accepted by Pr. Robert Jones, 2019

  • Love of Christ, Mesa, AZ, Call accepted by Pr. Nanette Christofferson , 2019

  • St Andrew, Phoenix, AZ`, Call accepted by Pr. Kari Williamson, 2020

  • Maricopa, Maricopa, AZ, Call accepted by Pr. Andrew Schlecht, 2020

  • Covenant, Quartzsite, AZ, Long term supply, 2020

  • Desert Streams, Waddell, AZ, Holy Closure, 2020

  • Desert Cross, Tempe, AZ, Call accepted by Pr Thaddeus Book, 2021

  • Esperanza, Phoenix, AZ, Call accepted by Pr. Anne Marie Burke, 2021

  • New Journey, Fountain Hills, AZ, Call accepted by Pr. Beth Gallen, 2021

  • Lord of Life, Sun City West, AZ, Call accepted by Pr. Pam Reynolds, 2021

  • Vida Nueva, Glendale, AZ, Interim serving, 2021

  • Alleluia, Phoenix, AZ, In partnership with Christ Evangelical, Goodyear, 2021

  • Peace, Peoria, AZ, Call Committee is interviewing candidates, 2021

  • Shepherd of the Desert, Sun City, AZ, Interim serving, 2021

  • Faith, Yuma, AZ, Interim serving, 2021

  • Faith, Phoenix, AZ, Interim serving; Transition Team , 2021

  • Mount of Olives, Phoenix, AZ, Supply pastor, 2021

  • Trinity, Phoenix, AZ, Call Committee , 2021

  • Central, Arizona City, AZ, Call Committee is interviewing candidates, 2021

  • Gloria Dei, Paradise Valley, AZ, Merging with Palo Christi Presbyterian Church, 2021

  • Bethany, Scottsdale, AZ, Call Committee is interviewing candidates, 2021

  • Bethlehem, Mesa, AZ, Call Committee is interviewing candidates, 2021

  • First Evangelical, Mesa, AZ, Interim serving, 2021

  • Resurrection, Oro Valley, AZ, Call Committee, 2021

  • Desert Hills, Green Valley, AZ, Interim serving, Transition Team, 2021

  • Our Saviour, Tucson, AZ, Call Committee, 2021

  • Lutheran Church of the Foothills, Tucson, AZ, Forming Call Committee , 2021

  • Abounding Grace, Tucson, AZ, Long-term Interim, 2021

  • New Spirit, Tucson, AZ, Term Call, 2021