Dear Nativity Friends,
I am pleased to announce that Nativity has a new Minister of Word and Service. The ballots from this weekend’s congregational meeting have been counted, and the congregation has unanimously voted to call Kyle Soderberg as Deacon.
The unanimous vote of 128-0 made history at Nativity. Unanimity is virtually unheard of with any call. Today’s result affirms our community’s resounding support and deep appreciation for Kyle’s work at Nativity.
Kyle will serve as Deacon of Operations and Outreach, providing administrative leadership to sustain and expand the effective mission of Nativity, overseeing its operations in collaboration with Nativity’s Business Administrator.
In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Deacons are called and ordained by congregations. As Ministers of Word and Service, they “connect the church with the needs of the world and work to equip others to serve those needs.”* Kyle is a servant leader with a heart for justice. His experience in running small businesses, his roots in the community, his emotional intelligence, and his training as a spiritual director makes him well suited to serve as Deacon of Operations and Outreach.
Now that Kyle has been unanimously called by the Nativity congregation, the next step will be ordination and installment. We previously communicated that Kyle will be ordained and installed as Deacon at Nativity on November 20. As it turns out, this will likely not be the case, and his ordination could take place as late as January. We will keep the congregation informed when a date firms up.
In the meantime, Kyle will continue to live into the new role at Nativity to which he has been called.
Thank you to the Nativity community for your participation in the discussion and voting process around this call. We look forward to the gifts of Kyle’s leadership.
In Faith,
Pastor Glenn Seefeldt
*From “Rostered Ministers of the ELCA” https://elca.org/About/Leadership/Rostered