September 30, 2026
To: The Congregation of First Lutheran Church
To my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ.
“I thank my God for every remembrance of you, always in every one of my prayers for all of you, praying with joy for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, for all of you are my partners in God’s grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the tender affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what really matters, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.”
-Philippians 1: 3-11
I write to you today to express my deep love and gratitude for all the ways that you have supported me and my family through 16 years and now into this next stage of life that I’m entering into. These last several months have provided me, along with my family, and accompanied by the Holy Spirit time to explore what the next stage of our lives together will look like. You were generous in providing me with a three month sabbatical, and in that time I experienced far more life than I expected and what that would mean for the future.
Upon my return to First Lutheran I was excited to begin part-time ministry, providing pastoral care and deep, caring conversations and counseling with many of our members. It has been incredibly life-giving in the past two months and I have enjoyed this new part-time position. But there have also been pieces of my call to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament that I have missed, that had been determined not feasible given a part-time schedule. What I have learned in this is that the fullness of my call in ministry is still becoming and changing and transitioning, just is the life of First Lutheran.
This decision is not a rejection of the ministry we have shared. Quite the opposite. I leave with deep appreciation for these sixteen years and for the many people who have helped shape me as a pastor and as a person. I want to leave being honest, authentic, and truthful, that we share in mutual love of the church even while we are lead in different directions.
To that end, I will be taking time to explore what this next phase of life will bring to me and my family and the God who I serve faithfully. I will be resigning my call at First Lutheran effective October 30. My last Sunday with you will be October 18. I look forward to spending the next few weeks with you continuing my ministry in pastoral care, worship leadership, and in saying goodbye.
I have not accepted another call to another congregation. I will be taking time to rest, to discern what ministry will look like for me in the future, to build relationships, to spend fully dedicated time with my family, and to enjoy the stage of life that I am in. I have had many caring conversations with our Bishop, Meghan, regarding this next step for me and taking time away to fully renew, and reset in the midst of a life that is bringing me great joy. I know that you will be well taken care of by our Office of the Bishop, by the staff at First Lutheran and by each other in the caring community that you have developed over years and years of ministry together.
Again, I have deep gratitude, and love for First Lutheran. I am excited to see the ways that you will grow in the years to come that you will impact the community as we always have, and that you will continue to serve God in ways that provide blessings to those who didn’t even see them coming. Thank you for your love, your grace, your understanding.
With a deep love,
Pastor Carrie
