COMMITTEE ON PREPARATION FOR MINISTRY
 Report to Presbytery ~ November 27, 2007

Doug Dent, Ruby Kleymann, John Lindholm, Gerald Olson, Clay Rosa, Iris Stevens, and Donna Buell (chair)

UPDATES REGARDING CANDIDATES

Sara Stegemann Drew (Luverne First) – ready to receive a call.  Sara graduated from Austin Theological Seminary last May.  CPM certified Sara “ready to receive a call” in February.  Her husband Chris was certified by his Presbytery earlier this fall.  So now Sara and Chris are both actively searching for their first calls. 

Jeremiah Knabe (Jackson, First) – Jeremiah is in his Senior year at Princeton Theological Seminary.  Jeremiah did Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) this summer and passed his Polity and Worship ordination exams in August. He will be retaking his Theology and Exegesis exams in January, and will meet with our committee some time this Winter/Spring in hopes of being “certified ready to receive a call.”

UPDATES REGARDING INQUIRERS: 

Chris Conlin (Mankato,First) – Commissioned Lay Pastor at Kasota, Professor of Microbiology at MSU Mankato.  Chris plans to apply to become a Candidate this year.

Daniel Voigt (Luverne, First) – Dan is working as a youth leader at a church in Alaska.  He will be married in January, and he and his wife are hoping to start graduate school in the fall of 2008.  The last time I heard from him he was planning to apply to Austin, Princeton and Pittsburgh Theological Seminaries.

Kathy Blair (Winnebago) – Kathy is enrolled in Dubuque Seminary’s new “distance learning MDIV” program.  She and her cohort of 14 students began their studies in August.  She is finding the work challenging - especially Greek!  She asks us to hold her class and the seminary in prayer as they chart this new territory.

Please hold each of these persons in your thoughts and prayers.

If your congregation has someone who is considering ordination as a Minister of Word and Sacrament, please contact the Committee on Preparation for Ministry as soon as possible so that we can begin working with them early in their discernment process. An outline of the preparation process can be found in the Presbytery’s Manual of Operations. 

OTHER COMMITTEE BUSINESS:

New Inquirers:

The committee is aware of at least two persons who may be coming to us to be enrolled as Inquirers in the near future. 

LDM Graduates Seeking to Become Approved CLP Candidates:

LDM Graduates will be receiving a mailing from CPM, inviting them to begin the process of becoming approved CLP Candidates under the care of Committee on Preparation for Ministry.  This step is necessary for anyone who desires to serve as a Commissioned Lay Pastor in our Presbytery. 

Annual Synod COM/CPM Training Event

CPM chair, Donna Buell and EP, Sue Coller are on the planning team for the 2008 Annual Synod COM/CPM training event. Members of both committees are urged to consider attending, as there are a number of workshops planned which relate directly to concerns that our Presbytery’s COM and CPM are currently facing. 

Respectfully Submitted,

Donna R. Buell

Chairperson, Committee on Preparation for Ministry