A major part of my call is Leadership Formation – much of which involves Candidacy for rostered ministry. We have a solid committee made up of five clergy and five lay leaders who do this work of identifying and accompanying our leaders in the church. We met on Saturday for a full day of discernment as we entered two new candidates for Word and Sacrament ministry. We also had two new members of the committee to fill open spots, who will now be learning about the ELCA process too. Pr. Ben Dueholm from Christ Lutheran in Dallas and LaKeesha Browne from Mt. Olive Lutheran in Dallas are our two new committee members. I am grateful for their willingness to serve in this important work.

Following the full day of meeting in person, I was also able to participate online in a virtual Trivia competition, benefiting Lutheran Campus Ministry of Denton. I won the trivia contest, but learned even more about our future leaders in this ministry. Did you know that 2 out of 5 students at UNT in Denton live with food insecurity? Our campus ministry students know. They offer a free meal every Thursday evening to anyone who wants as they grill outside the campus center. Each week they have been feeding 30-50 people with no strings attached. It doesn’t solve the problem but sure does let people know they care.

If you or your congregation would like to help, they are always in need of volunteers to help grill or serve, as well as donations to help cover the cost (about $150/week).  Your help is greatly appreciated!