Clergy & Congregational Coach
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Helping clergy and congregations navigate transitions with faithfulness and curiosity

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17 flavors and counting: the joy of ecumenical ministry

I grew up Southern Baptist. I didn’t know there were other kinds of Baptists until I went to college, much less that there were lots of Christian denominations other than the United Methodist Church, which was my dad’s upbringing.

Seminary was like a denominational playground where a church nerd like me could excitedly sample several expressions of faith. (Oooh, this church has a book full of beautiful prayers and rituals! That one really delves into Advent and Lent!) Even so, when I graduated, I was still a (no longer Southern) Baptist. I am still one to this day because of the central tenets of Bible, soul, church, and religious freedom.

And yet, I have worked mostly outside of Baptist contexts. I have held staff positions in PC(USA), United Methodist, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), in which I have ministerial standing. This ecumenism is due in equal parts to being the trailing spouse of a United Methodist minister in a state where my kinds of Baptists are hard to find and to building relationships with pastors of many denominations through Young Clergy Women International. I have both had to be and had the delightful opportunity to be broad in focus.

When I began coaching, then, I had a pretty big pool of ministers and churches to work with. That has translated into ongoing work with clergy and/or congregations of at least 17 faith groups:

  • Alliance of Baptists

  • American Baptist Churches (USA)

  • Anglican (Canada)

  • Assemblies of God

  • Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

  • Church of the Brethren

  • Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

  • Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

  • Mennonite Church (USA)

  • Methodist Church in the United Kingdom

  • Moravian Church in America

  • Presbyterian Church (USA)

  • The Episcopal Church

  • Unitarian Universalist (congregation affiliated also with a Christian denomination)

  • United Church of Canada

  • United Church of Christ

  • United Methodist Church

The list above does not include one-off coaching that I have done as part of group mentor coaching cohorts.

This variety makes my Enneagram 5 heart so very happy. I learn from every minister and church I coach. The benefits aren’t only my own; I take insights from one denomination and congregation into others I work with.

I’m a long way from the understanding of Christianity’s scope that I had as a young person. I can’t wait to be invited into more new-to-me spaces.

Photo by Lama Roscu on Unsplash.