Graduation: Campus Minister

Below is a note from Lindsey to our supporters.

The passing of time never ceases to amaze me. Even in an arduous year, where the events we usually use to mark time have been largely online, there have been great moments of joy and long weeks of patience as we wait for what’s next. The last couple months have been particularly precious with students as we've been able to meet safely again, outside, in very small groups. It feels like so much and nothing at all has changed.

And the graduations and celebrations that come at the end of each semester have been a little more poignant this time, because this is my last spring serving as Campus Minister and Executive Director... I know more intimately the anxieties of a graduate, as I don’t have any immediate plans other than to rest and process the last year. I will stay on in this role until a new minister is called. The UKirk Nashville Board has approved a stellar search committee that is already hard at work reviewing materials and interviewing candidates.

Listening to them report on the search process reminds me of the one that brought us here, and all that we’ve accomplished in between. There are numbers and figures to show, for sure, but I’m most proud of the community we've cultivated. I remember the reason I felt like UKirk was a place I wanted to be was that it felt like a “whole church” expression of faith, hope, and love. That’s still true, and it has been an honor to serve with many of you on college campuses or in Presbytery committees or as a part of our local churches. It’s been a pleasure to serve at your weddings and ordinations, in your pulpits and with coffee, or platters of food, to remind students, you, and me, and everyone else, that “all and y’all are welcome here.” Though it is hard to say goodbye, it makes sense for this change to happen now. We’ve graduated a number of students in the last fifteen months, and all of the changes that had to happen over that time have prepared some good soil for a new person to plant in. I trust they will carry on some of the traditions passed on to us, and develop new ones, emboldened by the Holy Spirit.

It’s in this very special frame of mind and heart that I get to ask you (one last time!!!) to join me in supporting UKirk, especially if you haven’t had a chance to give in this fiscal year. You can find all sorts of ways to do so here on our website. And keep in mind, once the Board has called a new Campus Minister, I'll be passing on the campusminister@ukirknashville email, along with the office keys, and various social media handles that #ukirk uses.

Thank you for everything. Love and prayers, Lindsey

photo from... a spring before COVID-19