In the past couple of weeks the traffic on this blog and a related Facebook group has really picked up. There have been some really fun “meetings” here as folks introduce themselves and tell a bit about their contexts for ministry.
Kerri and I have been a “clergy couple” since 1993 when we were ordained. Prior to seminary we were both church professions in youth ministry and continued that through seminary. We even met professionally. We had a few friends and colleagues who were clergy couples at the time, but we are aware of so many more couples engaged in ministry today.
Yet I think we all mostly remain disconnected as a “network” of clergy couples. We get lots of phone calls about how to “do” this co-pastor thing (Kerri and I are full-time co-pastors of a Presbyterian church in NE Ohio). We have some experience to share (how to search as a couple, how to negotiate a call, how to move from 3/4-time to full-time, how to work with the board of pensions, etc.), but we are certainly not alone. Many other couples have valuable experiences to share as well.
I am hoping that as we continue our conversations here we will begin to find new ways to connect with one another. One poster here alerted me to a conference for clergy couples happening this October at Mo Ranch in Texas. I wasn’t aware of the conference previously, but you can read about it here:
Mo-Ranch Couples in Ministry Conference
I invite you to continue introducing yourselves to each other, to share resources, and to make connections with each other. I certainly value connecting with and learning from your experiences, and find comfort knowing that there are others engaging in this unique way of being in ministry!
This is another network of clergy couples. Most people in this group are Lutheran, but we are expanding. I think it would benefit everyone if we could build a network together. If you are interested in working together, please let me know.
Thank you for your blog. I came across your names while doing a google search on co-pastors and am delighted to find you here. I am in the beginning process of circulating my PIF for a first call with our PC(USA). My spouse, David, and I were commissioned as mission co-workers in 1985 and served for 11 years in Cameroon and the Fiji Islands (I know, life is hard but someone had to do it.) David had the primary call which allowed me to discover community based societies and the essential role of participation and solidarity.
Over the past 4 years I have finished my M.Div. and the under care process with the Presbytery of Chicago. David and I would like to minister as co-pastor but one where I have 80% of the load and he carries 20%. He is a full time faculty member at McCormick Seminary and theological education is his primary call. My call is pastoral ministries. Working as mission co-workers the “co” part of ministry has always fascinated me. The emphasis is on partnering, listening, discernment, sharing, and relationship – all essential elements of being community together. It just seems like a grand leadership model to embody that which is being lived out in a congregation.
That said, we face some resistance to the idea especially from PNC’s. I welcome your comments not only on the experience your two have and are having as a clergy couple but also on your recommendations on presenting a clergy couple PIF to nominating committees. Jane
Hello fellow ministers married to ministers!
You might find some insights into the advantages and challenges of ministry as a clergy couple in this research I did as my wife and I prepared to seek a call. We’re now both happily serving in the same church. Blessings and come on over and explore our blog: http://duodigest.blogspot.com/2008/01/two-pastors-under-one-roof-and-steeple.html
To Jane — you’re really going to want to read the research paper. It will arm you with cogent thinking on what the church stands to gain from having a clergy couple. One nugget: A member of a clergy couple’s ministry is greatly enhanced by someone also trained and educated with whom to mull over difficult situations.
http://duodigest.blogspot.com/2008/01/two-pastors-under-one-roof-and-steeple.html
My wife and I are both PC(USA) Ministers and have been since 1994. We met in college but did not go to the same seminaries. Nor have we ever served in the same church. At times we have even been members of different presbyteries. We now both serve half-time in two not-yoked churches. We live in the mase associated with my wife’s church. I serve a small church twelve miles away. Do we qualify as a clergy couple? BTW, half of this clergy coouple or not is blogging at http:summittoshore.blogspot.com/