This September, Wollaston Congregational Church welcomed their first Pastoral Resident for Turnaround Ministry (PRTM), Leanne Sterio Walt. This is the very first Residency Program for Turnaround Ministry in the entire country! Leanne received her B.A. in Religious Studies from Bowdoin College in 2005 and her Masters of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School in June 2009. A lifelong member of the United Church of Christ, Leanne experienced a call to serve God through parish ministry in her childhood and then again during her first year of divinity school. Leanne served as a Field Education student at First Church in Charlestown, UCC and Second Congregational Church in Beverly and completed her Clinical Pastoral Education at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Leanne is on ordination track within the Essex Association of the Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ and hopes to be searching for her own call when she leaves WollyCong next year.
Leanne comes to WollyCong with a call on her heart to work with churches throughout the UCC that are experiencing decline in membership and vitality. Before discovering the PRTM at WollyCong, Leanne did not know that such crucial and necessary work was being done to revive our declining and dying congregations. Yet, the whole while, within the congregation that gathers here at WollyCong there was a story blooming of such immeasurable hope and promise for the future of our churches!
During her time at WollyCong Leanne will be focusing on five specific areas of ministry:
- Worship, Sacraments, Music, and Multi-Media;
- Intergenerational Christian Education, Diversity and Inclusion;
- Financial and Property Stewardship and Administration, Grant Writing, and Resource Development;
- Mission, Community Outreach, and Program and Leadership Development;
- Pastoral Care, Counseling, and Planning.
For more information about our Pastoral Residency for Turnaround Ministry (PRTM) at WollyCong you may contact us at wollcongchurch@comcast.net.