Grand Canyon Synod of the ELCA

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Grand Canyon Synod Transition Team Annual Report: 2022

Brian Flatgard

2022 Assembly Reports:
View reports for our 2022 assembly on our assembly report page and in this collection of blog posts.

The Grand Canyon Synod (GCS) Transition Team in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Synod (RMS) walks with Congregations through the transition time of calling a new rostered leader (pastor or deacon). The Team is led by Bishop Hutterer with Director of Congregation Transitions in the GCS and RMS, Deacon Janice Zimbelman, Associate for Candidate Identification, Dr.  Jerry Kingston, and Transition Coaches, Rev. Pat Reed and Rev. Glenn Zimbelman. 

The Transition Coach is the liaison between the Office of the Bishop and the Congregation.  Coaches work most closely with councils and call committees once the congregation, under the guidance of an Intentional Interim Pastor, has completed a Ministry Site Profile (MSP).  The MSP describes a congregation’s setting and ministries along with the qualifications and qualities they are seeking in their next rostered leader.  This document is used by the Office of the Bishop to find a good match for a congregation.  Deacon Zimbelman contacts candidates interested in serving in the Grand Canyon Synod and discusses their gifts for ministry.  Candidates are identified through networking, congregation recommendations and through a database of candidates interested in serving in Region 2.  That database is updated weekly and maintained by Dr. Kingston.   The final decision about which candidates are presented to a call committee rests with the Bishop.

The past year has been a learning process as we continue to refine and improve the Call Process by providing increased communication, guidance and care to rostered ministers and congregations during times of transition.  Our new Transition Manual, Congregations in Transition: Moving Boldly into the Future, is posted on the GCS website along with a list of Congregations in Transition (CIT).  They can be found under the Congregational Resources tab.  Synod Council Representatives attend Congregational Meetings to Call a New Pastor and bring greetings from the Office of the Bishop.  They are there to celebrate the call of a new pastor not only to a congregation, but also to this Synod.  We are church together.

The Grand Canyon Synod Transition Team has received positive feedback this past year from the leaders of congregations (transition teams, councils, call committees, and interim pastors) who appreciate the availability and attention from the Office of the Bishop.  Since last Assembly, the GCS has welcomed 13 new pastors including 3 first call pastors.  The lists (in alphabetical order) of Congregations with New Leaders and Current Congregations in Transition are below.

Respectfully Submitted,

Deacon Janice Zimbelman (jzimbelman@gcsynod.org), Rev. Patricia Reed (preed@gcsynod.org), Rev. Glenn Zimbelman (gzimbelman@gcsynod.org)

GCS Congregations with a New Rostered Leader in 2021 - 2022 (Assembly to Assembly)

  • Bethany Lutheran, Scottsdale, AZ: Pastor Sandy Jones

  • Bethlehem Lutheran, Mesa, AZ: Pastor Brian Weinberger

  • Central Lutheran, Arizona City/Casa Grande, AZ: Pastor Douglas Dill

  • Desert Hills, Green Valley, AZ: Pastor Michael Sager

  • Lutheran Church of the Foothills, Tucson, AZ: Pastor Naomi Hartman

  • Our Saviour, Tucson, AZ: Pastor Amalia Vagts

  • Peace Lutheran, Peoria, AZ: Pastor Ryan Hersch

  • Resurrection, Oro Valley, AZ: Senior Pastor Tim Nybroten

  • New Song, Henderson, NV: Associate Pastor Lordes Olson

  • New Promise, St. George, UT:  Associate Pastor Katie Langston

  • St. Andrew, Las Vegas, NV:  Associate Pastor Mari Larson

  • Shepherd of the Desert, Sun City, AZ: Pastor John Maroni

  • Trinity Lutheran, Phoenix, AZ: Pastor Ruby Myers

Current GCS Congregations in Transition

  • Abounding Grace, Tucson, AZ: Interim Pastor Keith Lingwall

  • American, Sun City, AZ: Interim Pastor Paul Campbell; Ministry Site Profile (MSP) Complete Community of Grace, Peoria, AZ: Associate Pastor to become Senior Pastor; Ministry Site Profile (MSP) Complete.

  • Desert Hills, Green Valley, AZ; Full-Time Associate Pastor; Ministry Site Profile (MSP) Complete

  • Faith/La Fe, Phoenix, AZ: Interim Pastor Sarah Birdsall-Upton; Candidate Selected

  • Faith, Yuma, AZ: Interim Pastor Richard Peterson; Candidates Given

  • First Evangelical, Mesa, AZ: Interim Pastor Dana Reardon

  • Good Samaritan/The Lakes: Las Vegas, NV:  Interim Pastor Mark Wikstrom at The Lakes, Ministry Site Profile (MSP) Complete

  • Grace, Kingman, AZ: Interim Pastor Judith Horgan; Ministry Site Profile (MSP) complete

  • Mount of Olives, Phoenix, AZ: Voted to sell property; Preparing Ministry Site Profile (MSP)

  • Mountain View, Phoenix, AZ:  Pr. Glenn Zorb to retire 06/2023; Candidates Given

  • New Spirit, Tucson, AZ: Interim Pastor Carol Breimeier; Ministry Site Profile (MSP) Complete Northern Arizona University (NAU): Flagstaff, AZ; Candidates Given (Joint Lutheran - Episcopal)

  • Our Saviour’s, East Mesa and Gold Canyon, AZ: Interim Pastor Doris Nolan; Preparing Ministry Site Profile (MSP)

  • Resurrection, Oro Valley, AZ: Associate Pastor Erin Morris (Start Date 07/05/2022)