Candidacy Process

(Steps toward becoming a Pastor or Deacon in the ELCA)

God calls all of us and each of us to ministry in God’s world. Some are specifically called to public, rostered ministry in the ELCA. (Rostered ministers are pastors and deacons in this church.) I am grateful for God’s call in your life!

The ELCA Candidacy Process accompanies people as they discern God’s call in their life. The candidacy process is meant to be a welcoming and joyful opportunity for people to discern how to serve in and through the church. It is a formalized, yet personally and relationally focused, journey that assists people in discernment for church leadership.

If you’d like to discover more about the ministry of deacons, watch this short video entitled, “What is a Deacon“.

Discernment Cohort

The candidacy committee of the Virginia Synod, in partnership with the Metro DC Synod, invites anyone who is feeling a call to ministry or is looking for a space to actively discern their call to join our Discernment Groups. New discernment groups start at various points across the year. Click here for information on the group beginning in August 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Colleen Hetrick, Assistant to the Bishop at hetrick@vasynod.org.

Steps in the Candidacy Process:

  • The Entrance process in candidacy is the first formal discernment by a candidacy committee and applicants of their readiness for candidacy. 
  • A decision to grant Entrance officially accepts an applicant into candidacy. 
  • Normally, a candidacy committee will grant Entrance prior to an applicant’s beginning seminary studies. (In unusual circumstances an applicant may begin seminary studies for a period of six months before an Entrance decision is granted.)
  • Be familiar with the ELCA Definitions and Guidelines for Discipline. All candidates for ministry are held accountable to the synod’s candidacy committee regarding this church’s expectations for my speech and conduct as set forward in Definitions and Guidelines for Discipline of Rostered Ministers  expected to live in accord with its standards of conduct as a candidate and as a rostered minister in the ELCA.
  • For more information about the specifics of the Virginia Synod process for Entrance, click here.

  • A candidate is Endorsed by the Candidacy Committee for one of two rosters:
    • Ministry of Word and Sacrament (Pastor)
    • Ministry of Word and Service (Deacon)
  • PRIOR to Endorsement, a candidate must complete:
    • Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) [usually coordinated through your seminary]
    • A seminary course in Lutheran Confessions
  • A candidate must be Endorsed in order to proceed to Internship

  • The Candidacy Committee discerns the candidate’s gifts and readiness to serve and lead in this church
  • PRIOR to Approval, a candidate must complete:
    • A formal internship (generally coordinated through your seminary)
    • An Approval Essay
  • Once Approved, the candidate is ready for the formal ELCA Assignment Process

Virginia Synod Candidacy Committee Members

The Rev. Colleen Hetrick
Assistant to the Bishop

Deacon Lisa Geiger 
Candidacy Process Administrator

The Rev. Derek Boggs 
Chaplain, Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Mt. Sidney

Robert Quandahl

Committee Chair
St Paul’s Lutheran Church, Hampton

Deacon Liz Brendle Fox
Hampton Healthy Families

Anna Lehman
Grace Lutheran Church, Winchester

The Rev. Anne Jones Martin
Christ Lutheran Church, Fredericksburg

David Mayersky
Good Shepherd, Lexington

Kristopher McClellan
St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Portsmouth

Carol McCue
First English Lutheran Church, Richmond

The Rev. Viktoria Parvin
St. Mark Lutheran Church, Charlottesville

Carl Williams
Grace and Glory, Palmyra

The Rev. Sonya Williams-Giersch
St. John’s Lutheran Church, Winchester

Dr. Brent Driggers

Associate Dean of Academic Programs, Professor of New Testament

Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary & Lenoir-Rhyne University

The Rev. Lianet Ramirez Barrientos

Region 9 ELCA Candidacy and Leadership Manager

The Rev. Colleen Hetrick
Email: hetrick@vasynod.org
Phone: 540-389-1000

Accompanying people as they ponder and discern what God is calling us to do now with our lives is the work of the Candidacy Committee. As the Christian Church participates in God’s mission in the world, there is a renewed awareness that God is making all things new. As both the Church and its contexts for ministry change, so do the leadership needs of the Church.

Discernment is a life-long process which continually assesses how God may be calling a person into ministry. It is a means for determining who might serve as a rostered leader, as well as who might serve in a variety of lay leadership roles in the church or in the world. Through congregational involvement, mentoring, working with a Candidacy Committee, and engaging in theological education, a person arrives at a sense of the kind of leader God is calling them to be.

Upcoming Candidacy Events