Mary Kate Buchanan: The Honor of Seeing God at Work in the World

The Pastoral Residency program at Plymouth is now 18 years old. During that time, we have had 15 residents serve with us and then move on to calls and ministries across the country - some are solo pastors, some are senior pastors, and others are associate pastors at larger churches. 

My hope is that these conversations with our former residents might be useful for those of you who may be discerning your own calls to ministry as well as those of you who are serving in your first calls and trying to figure out how to best serve your congregation while also taking care of yourself.

My guest today is Mary Kate Buchanan who is the Minister of Pastoral Care at First Community Church in Columbus, Ohio. Mary Kate served as a Transition into Ministry resident at Plymouth Church from 2019 until 2021.

Mary Kate thoughtfully shares with me the ways in which congregational ministry has been harder than she ever imagined but also more beautiful than she ever imagined. She talks about how she learned to trust her calling and her gifts as well as how to take care of herself well so that she can continue to offer pastoral care now and in the years ahead.

At the heart of her work is the honor and privilege she feels in seeing all of the ways God is working in the world among her congregation and beyond.

Mary Kate is also a good advocate for our pastoral residency program. If you're curious to learn more, you can go here:

https://www.plymouthchurch.com/transition-into-ministry/