Meet Colin P. Elliott
The Associate Pastor Nominating Committee recommends Colin P. Elliott with great enthusiasm as our candidate for Associate Pastor at St. Luke Presbyterian Church.
"The Whole Package"
Our committee of six began our search process last spring. We were fortunate to follow the PNC as their work creating the minister information form was a template, in several areas, for our group. Our minister information form differed in that the person we were seeking needed to be passionate about working with children and youth as this is 70% of the position requirement. We reviewed many candidates, interviewed candidates locally and across the United States but only Colin received an initial unanimous vote.
Colin is a recent graduate of United Theological Seminary in New Brighton. Prior to seminary he graduated with a BFA degree in theater from the U of Utah in 2007. He has almost a decade of professional experience working in theater as an actor, stage manager and operations director. Colin believes in experiential learning and after volunteering as a summer camp counselor recognized how transformative nature and community can be for youth. Colin has developed and led anti-racism efforts, he is very progressive, and at his core he believes in and works for social justice.
As we spent time with Colin, we were impressed by his solid progressive theology. We love his creativity, intellect, compassionate heart, energy, his championing of all, and his sense of humor. We truly respect his authenticity. And most importantly, we believe Colin is truly passionate about children and youth being committed to providing the support, programs, experiences, and the time and energy necessary to create real connections that result in healthy and joyous personal and spiritual development.
Colin’s references indicated he is bright, creative, skilled at interpreting scripture, and one who can hit the ground running. They also said he is very sensitive and insightful with a strong work ethic. One person said, “the whole package, progressive in his theology, passionate about social justice, a good fit for St. Luke”.
Our committee is very excited to have you meet and know Colin, his wife Laura and daughter Lillian who will be wonderful additions to our church.
St. Luke Associate Pastor Nominating Committee -
Nancy Anderson, Lori Cocking, Chip Goodall, Mary Lou Hoff, Samantha Klepfer, Darrell Schmidt
These are the important dates:
Saturday, Dec. 9, 3:00 - 5:00 pm: Meet & Greet - Open House - Garden Court
Sunday, Dec. 10, 9:15 - 10:15 am: Meet & Greet - Coffee with Colin - East Room (Colin will be speaking)
Sunday, Dec. 10, 11:30 am: Congregational Meeting to elect Colin P. Elliott as our Associate Pastor
"Being a voice of compassion and justice"
Dear friends and families of St. Luke,
I hope this letter of introduction finds you in good health and spirits.
This past May, I received my Masters in Divinity from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, and have been searching for my first ordained call since June, when I was approved for ordination by the United Church of Christ. I seek to serve the community at St. Luke through a four-way covenant between St. Luke, the United Church of Christ in New Brighton, the Minnesota Conference of the United Church of Christ, and myself. I believe this rare call to ministry reflects my own unique place in the world as well as the particular spirit which moves at St. Luke.
In addition to my MDiv, I hold a BFA in Theatre, which I received from the University of Utah in 2007, focusing on performance, design, and management. Since leaving the professional theatre communities of Utah and Colorado, I have found myself utilizing my technical experience to upgrade and assist faith communities in implementing audio and video technologies which enhance their missional identity. On that note, please feel free to check out my twitter @postmodernfaith and my blog postmodernucc.blogspot.com to get to know me further.
While modern technologies and media trends are an aspect of my ministry, the major piece I am most passionate about is working with youth. Growing up attending a youth camp called LaForet, in the foothills of Colorado, I know how transformative nature and community can be for youth, as well as the impact those youth will have in the world because of such holy experiences. I met my wife, Laura, thanks to LaForet, and have regularly volunteered time out of my summers to return and work as a counselor.
A quick list of the vocational goals I strive toward include: cultivating a society that sees all people as equals; utilizing love as the predominant emotion ruling all interactions; fixing hunger inequality in America and the world; being a voice of compassion and justice for the downtrodden; and – of course – bringing about world peace. Realistically, I would feel like a success if I were able to help cultivate a worship space that invited the disenfranchised to explore their spirituality, encourage the already faithful to be beacons of light and justice in the world, and inspire confidence in youth to claim their authentic faith identities in a world which demands conformity.
I admit, I tend to set goals for myself that some would say are unrealistically high or ambitious, but to me, if a life goal is not unrealistically high there is no way to ever do more than we think we can. By setting my goals high, I know I may not achieve them, however, I will also do a lot of really good work along the way while never settling for doing just enough.
The work and commitments present at St. Luke inspire and encourage that I am not alone in my drive to do a lot of great work for the world. On behalf of my wife Laura and toddler daughter Lillian, we look forward to getting to know all of you better.
Wishing you peace and love,
Colin P. Elliott
