Clergy
After Bishop Thomas Brown conducted a “Service for the Ending of a Pastoral Relationship and Leave-taking from a Congregation” on January 3, 2021, followed by a fond farewell from the parish, our rector of 13.5 years, the Rev. Dr. Nina R. Pooley, left to answer a call in Massachusetts. With guidance from the Diocese of Maine, St. Bartholomew’s entered a time of discernment, seeking the answer to two questions: Who are we? and What is God calling us to do? before beginning the search for a spiritual leader to lead us down that chosen path. The Discernment Committee completed its research from calls with 75 parishioners. The findings were presented to the congregation at a Zoom Coffee Hour on June 13, 2021. Click HERE to watch the Zoom Coffee Hour where the Discernment Report was presented.
With great joy and huge gratitude, we announce that Rev. Amanda Gerken-Nelson has accepted our invitation to be St. Bartholomew’s next spiritual leader. The Search Committee unanimously and enthusiastically recommended Amanda to the Vestry, who accepted their recommendation with the support of both Canon Ambler and Bishop Brown of the Diocese.
Amanda is a Lutheran minister, ordained in 2015. She has signed a Letter of Agreement to be our Priest-in-Charge for a renewable period of 3 years, beginning January 1, 2022. The Roles and Responsibilities grid, developed by the Vestry and discussed and vetted by the parish, will be her roadmap for her 20 hours of service per week. She will lead 3 worship services a month, along with other duties and responsibilities that are outlined in the grid which is available at your request.
After spending two years as the Pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in East Hartford, Connecticut, Amanda has spent the last four and a half years as the Executive Director of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM), a nonprofit organization that advocates for and supports LGBTQIA+ leaders in the Lutheran Church in the United States and Canada.
As she said in her introductory letter: “My calling in life is to preach the good news of Christ’s love, to care for God’s people who diligently seek to live out their grace-filled callings as disciples, to wrestle with God’s people as we explore the scriptures and ponder what holy texts are being written today, to administer the sacraments as they reveal God’s presence in our lives: I am called to be a pastor.” And so, she responded to our posting.
Amanda and her wife, Tasha, live with their 1 year-old son in their home in Portland. She begins her time with us on Sunday, January 2, 2022. We hope that many of you will be in attendance to meet her on that day! We know that you will feel as hopeful and confident of our future together as the others of us who have met her feel.
We are deeply grateful to John Duncan who led both the Discernment and Search Committees in their work. Kathy Abernathy, Michele Johns and Susie Soule served on both committees. Other members of the Discernment Committee were Pam Hobson, Tom Hyndman, and Mike Perfetti, with the extraordinary assistance of Peter Small who conducted so many valuable interviews with parishioners. Other members of the Search Committee were Anne Berg, Jan Burson, Sarah Fischer, Lucia Hunt, and Gary Sylvester. Thank you, one and all, for your prayerful, focused, hard work!
Click here to find out more about our community.
Staff
Office: (207) 846-9244
Admin. Asst. Meredith Mazur
Email: admin@stbartsyarmouth.org
Music Director:
John Schuder
Click here for more about our Music Program
Education Program:
Michelle Betz Youth Education Leader
Click here for more about our Youth Program
After Bishop Thomas Brown conducted a “Service for the Ending of a Pastoral Relationship and Leave-taking from a Congregation” on January 3, 2021, followed by a fond farewell from the parish, our rector of 13.5 years, the Rev. Dr. Nina R. Pooley, left to answer a call in Massachusetts. With guidance from the Diocese of Maine, St. Bartholomew’s entered a time of discernment, seeking the answer to two questions: Who are we? and What is God calling us to do? before beginning the search for a spiritual leader to lead us down that chosen path. The Discernment Committee completed its research from calls with 75 parishioners. The findings were presented to the congregation at a Zoom Coffee Hour on June 13, 2021. Click HERE to watch the Zoom Coffee Hour where the Discernment Report was presented.
With great joy and huge gratitude, we announce that Rev. Amanda Gerken-Nelson has accepted our invitation to be St. Bartholomew’s next spiritual leader. The Search Committee unanimously and enthusiastically recommended Amanda to the Vestry, who accepted their recommendation with the support of both Canon Ambler and Bishop Brown of the Diocese.
Amanda is a Lutheran minister, ordained in 2015. She has signed a Letter of Agreement to be our Priest-in-Charge for a renewable period of 3 years, beginning January 1, 2022. The Roles and Responsibilities grid, developed by the Vestry and discussed and vetted by the parish, will be her roadmap for her 20 hours of service per week. She will lead 3 worship services a month, along with other duties and responsibilities that are outlined in the grid which is available at your request.
After spending two years as the Pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in East Hartford, Connecticut, Amanda has spent the last four and a half years as the Executive Director of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM), a nonprofit organization that advocates for and supports LGBTQIA+ leaders in the Lutheran Church in the United States and Canada.
As she said in her introductory letter: “My calling in life is to preach the good news of Christ’s love, to care for God’s people who diligently seek to live out their grace-filled callings as disciples, to wrestle with God’s people as we explore the scriptures and ponder what holy texts are being written today, to administer the sacraments as they reveal God’s presence in our lives: I am called to be a pastor.” And so, she responded to our posting.
Amanda and her wife, Tasha, live with their 1 year-old son in their home in Portland. She begins her time with us on Sunday, January 2, 2022. We hope that many of you will be in attendance to meet her on that day! We know that you will feel as hopeful and confident of our future together as the others of us who have met her feel.
We are deeply grateful to John Duncan who led both the Discernment and Search Committees in their work. Kathy Abernathy, Michele Johns and Susie Soule served on both committees. Other members of the Discernment Committee were Pam Hobson, Tom Hyndman, and Mike Perfetti, with the extraordinary assistance of Peter Small who conducted so many valuable interviews with parishioners. Other members of the Search Committee were Anne Berg, Jan Burson, Sarah Fischer, Lucia Hunt, and Gary Sylvester. Thank you, one and all, for your prayerful, focused, hard work!
Click here to find out more about our community.
Staff
Office: (207) 846-9244
Admin. Asst. Meredith Mazur
Email: admin@stbartsyarmouth.org
Music Director:
John Schuder
Click here for more about our Music Program
Education Program:
Michelle Betz Youth Education Leader
Click here for more about our Youth Program
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396 Gilman Road, Yarmouth, Maine, 04096 CONTACT US
Church Office Phone: (207) 846-9244 Office email: admin@stbartsyarmouth.org Receive our Newsletter! Click here to receive our weekly newsletter and monthly Mustard Seed publication via email. St Bart’s is a parish of the Diocese of Maine, of the Episcopal Church, a province of the Anglican Communion. |
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