Today, Sunday, I worshipped at St. Matthew, just like Joy. In the afternoon, all of us (Joy, Trish, Zach, our Professor, Peter, and me) met with Pr. Catherine and two other pastors from the area. The other pastors were a husband and wife team from a church known as "Long Branch." Apparently, Long Branch, as well as "Stone Church" (St. John) and "Hickory Grove" (I believe it is really St. Paul) are better known by their geographic location than their actual names. Long Branch is also ELCA.
The Cluster Pastors and our class had the opportunity to dialogue about what it is really like to be a minister in a rural context. We discussed everything from being a parent to dealing with cultural changes in the surrounding communities. The pastors were also very open in their discussions about how they feel their churches could institute change and allow for evangelism. All three pastors were very clear that being a rural minister is difficult at times, but it is worth it.
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