Staffing Updates at Gloria Dei

Dear People of Gloria Dei,

We want to update you on our hiring processes at Gloria Dei. We are excited to announce the recent addition  of Susan Bauman as our part time Children’s Ministry Coordinator. She brings a wealth of experience and is a wonderful addition to our team. Susan joins Demery Maughan (Youth Coordinator) and Beth Krolak (Interim Children Youth and Family Director) to round out our CYF team. Our Congregational Coordinator position remains vacant, but we are accepting applications. If you know of someone who may be interested in one of our vacancies, please share our information. Job postings at Gloria Dei are on our website.

We are thankful for Beth Krolak’s role in the interim capacity, even as we actively gather candidates for the permanent CYF Director position. Some who have applied for the opening are ELCA Deacons. Pastors and Deacons are the two rostered positions in the ELCA. Where Pastors are called to “Word and Sacrament Ministry,” Deacons are called to “Word and Service Ministry.” Deacons serve ELCA congregations in areas such as family ministry, youth, administration, social services, music, and more. Deacons connect the church with the needs of the world and work to equip others on their faith journeys. There are many Deacons serving congregations throughout the Southeast Minnesota Synod. A Deacon is not a pastor, but is still a leader who is uniquely called and trained by the seminaries of our church to fulfill their ministry.

Because a Deacon is a rostered leader in the ELCA, there are a few unique aspects to the hiring process. To call a Deacon, the Church Council is required to select a hiring team/call committee. If this committee selects a Deacon for the position of CYF Director, a congregational meeting will be called and a vote will be taken to receive the candidate as a member of our staff. At our Church Council meeting on Monday, March 14, the following members of the HR team were named as the hiring team/call committee– Jennifer Campbell, Jennifer Schnaedter, Gary Zander, and Tim Buchholtz, the team will be rounded out with staff members Carol Fisher, Pastor Marla, and Pastor Dave.

We are thankful for this team of people, and we are open to see where God’s Spirit might be leading us. Regardless of whether we bring a Deacon or another qualified candidate to our team, we remain committed to fulfilling the promises we make when our children are baptized— that we will care for them, walk with them and teach them the mysteries of God’s love in their lives.

Please keep our congregation in prayer as we navigate these hiring processes. May we be open to God's Spirit and dare to follow where it leads.

Grace and Peace,

Dave Berg Lisa Epp

Pastor Council President