The 2021-23 cohort of the Rural MN Fellows Program met at the Saint John’s Abbey Guesthouse in Collegeville, MN on November 8-9, 2021.
On November 8 and 9, an ecumenical group of 12 pastors convened in Collegeville, MN for the inaugural meeting of the Rural Minnesota Fellows Program.
The theme of the inaugural gathering was Being a Leader. Dr. Martin Giese, President of Oak Hills Christian College, offered an insightful presentation on leadership in the church and what it means to be a leader in a rural community. Giese spoke of the “rurban” church as one where both rural and urban mindsets are present and can lead to socio-cultural tensions. The group also interacted with John Klassen, OSB, the Abbot of Saint John’s Abbey, who presented on leadership in the context of a monastic community, and the implications of that for the church and the larger community.
The program brings together clergy from rural churches with professionals from other sectors of rural society in order to strengthen these religious leaders’ sense of themselves as civic leaders and public theologians. This unique leadership development opportunity is for pastors in the early to middle years of their career. The 12 fellows will meet every three months until August 2023.
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