Where, O where, will we be next year?

It’s kinda crazy not knowing where in this grand country we’ll be next year. And we still have two months before we find out. Could be as close as Somonauk, IL (about 60 miles west of Hyde Park) or as far as Vancouver, WA (almost 2200 miles west of Hyde Park). Could be as cold as Seymour, WI (avg. January high of 24) or as warm as Bradenton, FL (avg. January high of 72). Oh the joy of internship interviews!

We’ll find out where we’re going on April 14, and then move there as early as five weeks later. Only to do it all over again a year later with [God willing] a first call. I know I’ve brought some of this on myself by my unorthodox timeline and the places I’ve chosen to go to school, but it gets me wondering…is there an easier—and by easier I mean more local—way to prepare pastors for our churches? I understand that the ELCA hopes to train leaders that will be well-prepared to serve the whole church, wherever that might be. But is this educational model sustainable long-term? Is sending seminarians (and often their families) all over the country the best use of our resources? Or would we do well to develop a more local solution when someone receives the call to ordained ministry? There are no easy answers to these questions, but I think we should be asking them.