This year’s Synod Gathering offered an opportunity for groups of similarly-engaged participants to share a meal together. One of those groups was those involved in Advanced Lay Ministries.

With small congregations around the North Carolina Synod facing declining membership, financial instability, and geographical isolation, the reality of securing a pastor, even a part-time one, can be daunting. Some of these congregations struggle to find interim or supply pastors. But in North Carolina, there is relief for these churches in the persons called to be Lay Preachers or Synod Authorized Ministers (SAMs)—collectively called Advanced Lay Ministries. When the current group of lay ministers gathered for lunch during this year’s Synod Gathering, the conversation around the table was as diverse as the group of individuals gathered.

Individuals called to be SAMs fulfill the need for leadership, stability, and care. For many, it marks another facet of a lifetime of service to God and a church family they love. “The church I serve couldn’t afford to pay a pastor, period. They were struggling. They welcomed me, knowing I was going to be there for them. There are some challenges, sure, but it’s so fulfilling to see the people have some hope. We all want the same thing: to serve God and be God’s hands in the world. Whatever that means for us.”

Lay preachers talk about the work as a blessing. Many work demanding full-time jobs, but still want to serve. “One of the advantages of being a lay preacher is that I don’t have to prepare a sermon every week. In our area, I don’t get a lot of calls, because there are not a lot of Lutheran churches near us. When I do, I know I am doing a service for the pastor, to give them a break.”

The additional Affinity Lunches allowed many groups to share time, conversation, and a meal together; in many cases, meeting new friends, in others, reconnecting with old. The other Affinity Lunches were:

Rural Ministry
New to the Synod
Church Administrators
Disaster Network
First Call Theological Education
LTSS/LRU Alumni Breakfast—not a lunch, of course, but a chance to hear from Dr. Chad Rimmer about the seminary’s upcoming transition to the Hickory campus.