Interested in becoming an ordained pastor or rostered deacon? The journey begins with discernment, which may lead a person to consider candidacy. An Application for Candidacy starts the candidacy process, beginning with entrance, continuing through endorsement, and ending with approval. Approved candidates enter the Churchwide assignment process, making themselves available for call. The call of a congregation enables a candidate’s instatement to the roster of ordained ministers through ordination, to the roster of associates in ministry through a service of commissioning, or to the rosters of diaconal ministers or deaconesses through a service of consecration. To read more about candidacy on the ELCA website, visit www.elca.org/candidacy.
Interested in becoming a lay minister? The Lay Ministry Institute (LMI) mission is to educate and equip lay people for theologically sound ministry. The Lay Ministry Institute is under the office of the bishop of the Upper Susquehanna Synod which provides oversight and accountability to its programs, and which authorizes lay leaders for ministry in our congregations. In 2024, Bishop Miller has tasked the board with providing opportunities for individuals to grow in their gifts in ministry. If you have a topic you’d like presented, please contact the synod office.
Lay Ministry Board Members include Diana Bubb (chair), Pastor Mindy Bartholomew, Pastor Ted Cockley, Ed Coup, Wendy Davis, Jim Girven, Barbara Horn, Kaye Long, Pastor Troy Spencer, Pastor Karla Leiby, and Bishop Craig Miller.
With the bishop’s written permission an Authorized Lay Worship Leader may preside at the Eucharist of a particular congregation for a specific time. This is the only LMI program in which all applicants must seek the bishop’s authorization at program’s end. Read the Lay Ministry Institute Handbook to learn how the LMI program works in our synod today and read about its history. Applicants need to complete an application and submit and an Entrance Essay, along with the application fee of $750. Background checks, and recommendations from the pastor and congregation council are also required.
Current authorized lay leaders may download the following to submit for annual renewal of authorization: LWL annual renewal forms. New in 2024, supervisors are to complete the LWL supervisor review. Both forms may be completed on a computer, printed and signed for submission, using Adobe Acrobat or another appropriate PDF reader.
Application to the Lay Ministry Institute
Participants in the programs of the LMI are active, confirmed, communing, and contributing members of Upper Susquehanna Synod congregations. They are recognized as leaders by their congregations, uphold the highest standards of the Christian life, are faithful in their personal lives, and agree to live by the standards expressed in Guidelines for Rostered Ministers in the ELCA. They work closely with a mentoring ordained minister (usually the pastor of their home congregation) throughout the training process.
Applications to participate in a lay leader program of the LMI include the following:
- Completed application form, including basic personal information, prior church leadership experience, and answers to questions about the applicant’s spiritual formation.
- Contact information for three personal references (other than the applicant’s pastor).
- An autobiographical essay reflecting the applicant’s process of discerning this call to service.
- A completed and signed statement from the applicant’s pastor, including a letter of reference.
- A letter of reference from the applicant’s Congregation Council.
- Original reports from required background checks.
- A personal interview with a member of the LMI Board.
- Tuition of $750.
Applications for authorization by the bishop at their program’s end also include the following:
- Agreement and signature to a Statement of Commitment for authorized lay leaders.
- Completion of and signature to an ELCA Standards Questionnaire for authorized lay leaders.
To apply to take part in the next class of Lay Worship Leaders, complete the online application.