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And a lot about being fairly compensated for our ministry.

First, we went back to last week’s theme: sharing your ministry.

To talk about Loren’s new book!!

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As mentioned earlier this week in ’s write up, there is usually an underlying fear associated with pitching a project …

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In Week 2, Q2 of ‘Sustainability’ at Substack Seminary:

Describe the person your ministry is for—demographics, spiritual location, hunger, obstacles, even a name. What do they need that they can’t find anywhere else?

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Kicking off Quarter 2: Sustainability

• This week we came live on Wednesday - because Cathie and Sierra were both in North Carolina!

• We started with defining our individual ministry and names.

• As Cathie pointed out, your ministry name is not the name of the church you serve (like St. John’s or Grace Church).1

• Your individual ministry is about who you are, what you do, who you serve, and how you bring people closer to God—it prevents us from being over-invested in a single location.

  

Ministry Identities and Structures

• Sierra is actively grappling with separating her identity from her roles, recognizing that her local church, the new denomination, and her personal ministry are all separate things.

  • She bought the domain for her denomination, New American Orthodox, after Cathie encouraged her to create that separation.

  • Her local church is St. Jacob’s: a place to wrestle with God, and her Substack, The grappling with God, aligns with that branding but serves a different audience.

  • The goal is to formalize these separate entities so they are sustainable and don’t solely depend on Sierra.

• Loren is exploring different names to capture his work:

  • His current podcast is Future Christian.

  • He bought the domain for New Era Pastor, a name suggested by a colleague, which speaks to operating “on the edge of institutional bounds” (also, Taylor Swift!)

  • His blogging site is The Church Nerd.
    
    

• Cathie organizes her multiple efforts under her “umbrella ministry”:

  • The main ministry is Free Range Priest.

  • Sub-ministries include Substack Seminary and Trexo (a “gym for your soul”).

  • She holds the domains Trexo.church and Substackseminary.org.

  • Her service to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is structured as a contract with Free Range Priest, clarifying that it is St. Paul’s ministry, not Cathie’s.

Naming our ministry and how it forms us

• Defining our ministry clearly helps set boundaries, stating what we are not doing—like fixing the boiler or being constantly stuck in budget meetings.

• Loren shared the story of the drummer who lost his hearing as an analogy, illustrating that our core purpose must transcend any specific church job, so we’re not lost if we lose a position.

• We discussed the frustration over the ease of getting ordained online, which Cathie and Sierra agree devalues the formation, preparation, community support, accountability, and licensing required for professional ministry. Cathie compared this specialization to medical specialization.

Should your ministry be your website?

• Cathie is focused on organizing all ministry efforts into one place and creating a network to connect people across different channels.

• Sierra noted that her Substack content creation is “haphazard” but admitted she could combine her efforts more.

• On the Substack vs. Website debate, Sierra finds traditional websites easier for practical information (like service times), while Cathie suggested ways to structure Substack to serve that function. Loren emphasized the importance of recognizing tool trade-offs and focusing energy where it counts.

• Cathie believes 21st-century ministers need technical skills and an interactive online platform to engage people outside their hyper-local area, especially as church attendance declines.

• Sierra doesn’t like streaming full church services but sees value in sharing sermons online to serve her “outlying congregation”. She celebrated the internet’s ability to connect and build niche communities with very little effort.

  

V. Substack Seminary Retreat

• We plan to hold an online, half-day retreat this summer - looking at dates

• We hope this online retreat (and Cathie and Sierra’s visit) will be a precursor to an in-person retreat in the near future.

• Anyone planning to join Substack Seminary in Quarter 3 is welcome to sign up for the retreat when it happens.

• We look forward to seeing everyone’s responses to this week’s discussion!

Ready to be all-in?

Upgrade to the Founder level (‘Enrollment’) and become a Substack Seminary Participant, and join the year-long development, networking, and training community for ministers.

We take on one theme per Quarter and admit new enrollees four times a year on rolling Quarters (so if you start at Q2, you’ll get Quarters 2, 3, 4, then 1, and so on…)

During the Quarters - we’ll have weekly topics, homework, check-in with your ministry partner(s), and chats.

When the year is through you’ll have built your own roadmap for your ‘Cage Free’ ministry - and be part of a community that’s building the Future of Church - together.

Subscribe now

Reflection on Substack Seminary’s First Quarter:

• Cathie asks Sierra for feedback on the first quarter of Substack Seminary: what was good, what could be better, and what is she looking forward to in Quarter Two.
  

The Experience of Ministry and Solitude:

• Sierra shares that as a verbal processor, t…

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Participants:

Substack Seminary: Week 5

Theme: The Institutional Church and its relation to individual ministries.I. Introduction and Setting the Theme

• Welcome and introduction to the Substack Seminary weekly questions.

• Introduction of Sierra Ward as the guest practitioner, discussing the theme of the quarter: the ins…

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Questions for the week:

1. How is your ministry agile? (How can it easily change and adapt to changing circumstances?)

2. How is your ministry networked? (How are you connected with other ministries, and are you avoiding working in a silo?)

3. How is your ministry technology-based? (How is technology at the center of organizing, administrating, and sharing your min…

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Livestream transcript: Sierra Ward and Cathie Caimano 1.29.26

The Week 3 Substack Seminary livestream focused on the challenges and opportunities of pioneering ‘Cage Free’ ministry while maintaining connection to the church and a sense of authority. The conversation began with the common feeling of doubt: ‘Am I allowed to do this?’ - a fear of being ‘fo…

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Here’s a summary of the conversation and Sierra’s answers to this week’s questions:

Sierra continues to recount her journey in ministry, starting where she left the story last week - Week 1 (watch it HERE). When that pastor left and the church decided she “wasn’t right for them,” she quit her job. She was frustrated but chose to “leap out into thin air,”…

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… and we’re live!

In our first Substack Seminary live Stream, and I welcome Guest Practitioner to the first Quarter of the program:
How Church is Stuck.

We ask her to reflect on our questions of the week - questions for all of us in our ministry - from the perspective of her own journey and ministry.

Sierra powerfully wrestles with them in the video.

Her…

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• Scale and package. If people can’t afford what you do, make a smaller version of it (this includes serving with congregations).

• Name your ministry - and treat it as its own organization - even if you’re full-time with a congregation.

• We need to assume we will get paid for ‘side gigs’ as clergy.

• Membership motivates commitment.

• Don’t take work that isn’t you…

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