The Virginia Synod–in partnership with the North Carolina Synod–held a weekend retreat for the Lay Ministry Academy at Lutheridge Conference Center and Camp in early February. The luxury of a whole weekend afforded participants the chance to engage in intensive study as they journey through their calling to become lay leaders.
Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bristol was honored to have two congregants in attendance–one in each track–and these are their accounts of the weekend.
Hi, I am Laura Doughty, currently a candidate in the Lay Ministry Academy, specifically in the Synod Authorized Ministers Program (SAM). The SAM group just completed our second “intensive” weekend at Lutheridge in Arden, North Carolina. We were so happy it was not freezing this year!! Our topic for this semester was Foundations of Christian Worship. We were taught by the Rev. Dr. Chad Rimmer, PhD, Rector and Dean of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, in Columbia, South Carolina. Dr. Rimmer was a great teacher and mentor (well “is a great…,” we continue to be taught as classes are not done yet!). We have been learning the ins and outs of preparing worship services of all types. In case you did not know, there are numerous types of services out there, not just Holy Communion, and there is a lot of preparation that goes into a service! For our intensive weekend, we split into groups and each group prepared a different type of worship service and then presented those services on Saturday to our fellow classmates. We then critiqued and praised each other. It was a great learning experience, but we also had some fun. This journey to become a SAM has been so rewarding. I never thought my faith would be so impacted; would grow so much. I thank the Virginia Synod and Redeemer for giving me this opportunity. If you have ANY inkling of a call to service, please check out these programs (Lay Preaching and Synod Authorized Minister)!!
Hello! I’m Jen Hawbaker Partica, and as a newcomer to the program, I studied “Lutheran Theology and Confessions” with Dr. Justin Nickel from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. I love how familiar and collegial it feels to read the writings of Martin Luther, as if he’s an old friend I haven’t spoken to in a while; picking back up right where we left off as if no time has passed. Over the course of six sessions, Dr. Nickel brought to life Luther’s work in a way that felt relevant and urgent. No matter how long you’ve been a Lutheran, how much you’ve read, or how often you pray, there is always a freshness to revisiting the Word from the perspective of a new teacher. All weekend I heard the mantra “made new” in my head, and I felt it in my heart and soul. God is full of surprises. May this journey continue for all of us in the Lay Ministry Academy with as much renewal as we experienced at Lutheridge.
Below are the participants and leaders from the Lay Ministry Academy 2024 event at Lutheridge.
