The Girlfriends' Clergy Companion

As increasing numbers of young women are discerning a call to ministry, entering seminary, graduating, and searching for the call to a parish or other ministry setting, they need to be aware of the realities that face them. The Girlfriends' Clergy Companion is about the nitty gritty of ministry for young female clergy—how to maintain a sense of personal style, what it's really like to be a solo pastor, how to date, what to do when they're ready to quit. The authors met in 2008 at a gathering of young women who serve as pastors. Since then, they have been meeting monthly to develop a 'young girlfriends network' and to support one another in their ministries. In their conversations, they heard one another talking about what they wished they had known before beginning ministry. Those yearnings gave rise to this book. The authors discuss the call process and the ministry situations in which young women most commonly find themselves serving as a solo pastor and as an associate. Additional chapters explore personal style, the single life, relationships, children, and self-care, as well as challenges pastors, particularly new pastors, often face. Each chapter ends with 'The Girlfriends' Checklist,' a summary of strategies to help young women be happier and more effective ministers.