A brief on how I ended up in Syracuse.

What a journey! In April I submitted my paperwork to be open to call (that means “job” in churchy language). I released it to the ENTIRE ELCA, including global service. I had no idea what to expect. The story follows.

I was quite surprised to have dozens of synods reach out to me over the next month, most with a particular call/church in mind. That meant I was reading about a LOT of congregations and doing searches to see if we could afford to live there in a variety of ways (healthcare, LGBTQIA+2S safety, cost of living, etc). At times it was a little overwhelming and once, very full of sadness. I read about an amazing congregation in Oklahoma that I really wanted to explore but knew it was unsafe for my family at this time. To be clear, my family was willing to support me but the fear and sorrow in their eyes gave me my answer. As long as it is not just me, I cannot ask them to sacrifice for my call. God called me to family before God called me to the church, so I keep that order.

By May I was in conversation with several synods in an ongoing manner. One was Upstate New York. There is this gem of a human named Rachel who works for the bishop and she does her job sooooo well. She said, “I want to tell you about a position as a Chaplain.” My response was, “Chaplaincy at a university is only a concept for me, not a lived experience.” I was trying to express that I have zero idea what this meant. I could only go off of what I knew from hospital, disaster care, and military chaplaincy.

Rachel connected me to several chaplains and a dean to discuss what lived reality of chaplaincy looks like. One really stuck: The Reverend Brian Konkol, Dean of Syracuse University. Our conversation was energizing and I realized I needed to seriously consider this call. For me, when I get energized or sense a deep peace, those are often indicators that the call is right.

But it was a part time call and I was seeking full time. So Rachel got to work looking at congregations that might be a fit and offered me a couple to consider with prayer. I was drawn to the vigorous and extensive community work of St. Paul’s Lutheran in Liverpool, NY. The benefit was that it was just outside the city of Syracuse.

In late August I came for interviews- spending 10 days in Syracuse wandering and exploring and I fell in love.

By the end of that trip, the board of Lutheran Campus Ministries, Syracuse voted to offer me a call and I accepted. St Paul’s would take some more time. I knew I was supposed to come here though. I had listened to the lake; Onandaga lake, the birthplace of the  Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the land of the Onandaga Nation that were stolen after the Revolutionary War, despite a treaty.
At one point in time this lake was considered the most polluted body of water in the U.S. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onondaga_Lake has an extensive article on it and it’s history. I encourage you to read it.
I stood on the shore of the lake, putting my bare feet on the damp soil and closed my eyes. I needed to feel the land and see if it was welcoming me to its care and tending, to be a place to provide for me and my family.

When I closed my eyes, the whole world of human sounds fell away instantly. I could hear the lake water kissing the stones at its edge, the sweetgrass swaying, the birds and bugs moving and the tree near me whispering among its leaves. That was when I knew. In this place, I would be able to reconnect with creation, with that which births and nurtures all of us. I was feeling called to protect its sacred nature and to heal and grow in this place. So it was done. There was no denying that moment and I realized I better hang on for the ride ahead!

My start date was set for 10 October for Campus ministries. The congregation meeting to vote on me was set for 20 October. So I packed what I knew I needed for the next 3 months and got in the car and drove from Visalia to Syracuse, 2,771 miles. And now, here I am, at the end of October with two wildly different calls, a new place to explore and connect with, and seeking the house we will call home.

Let’s see what the path ahead holds, eh?