Dear Reformation,
It is a joy to share with you all that I have successfully defended my doctoral thesis and am preparing to graduate with my Doctor of Ministry on May 18! (Joining me in the United Lutheran Seminary Class of 2024 is my husband, Pastor Daniel Smith, earning his Master of Sacred Theology and our Deacon Intern, Vicar Paula Estornell, earning her Master of Arts in
Ministerial Leadership.)
I am grateful for all of your support and encouragement over the past several years as I completed my coursework and my thesis. Your love and cheers have made this accomplishment all the more wonderful!
On April 7 and 14, I will be leading a two-part presentation during the education hour at 9:45 am to share my research. (You are welcome to join for just one if you can’t make both!) I will be sharing highlights from my thesis, Beyond the Stained Glass Ceiling: Freeing Women Clergy from the Patriarchy to Thrive in Ministry. My project explores the challenges that women clergy continue to disproportionately encounter despite more than a half-decade of the right for women to be ordained in our own tradition. It includes first-person accounts from women clergy around the country from the largest Protestant traditions in the U.S.
Thank you again for all your love and support!
Pastor Alina Gayeuski