As Goodie Bell steps down as Associate Pastor and we enter a new season of transition, the Session has invited Chris Blumhofer to serve us as a Parish Associate. In that role, Chris will help lead Sunday morning worship, preach, provide pastoral care, and perform other tasks that support David Dunderdale and the rest of the staff. Many of you have seen Chris serve in a similar role while leading our monthly Evening Prayer Services.

The term “Parish Associate” in our denomination refers to an ordained pastor who is a participant in a particular congregation but is not one of its installed pastors. The position is also part-time and limited to a defined set of ways to serve. Parish Associates are typically retired pastors or pastors serving the larger church in other ways. Chris, for example, is ordained to his teaching position on the faculty of Fuller Seminary, where he teaches remotely from Durham.

The Session appoints a Parish Associate whereas the congregation calls an installed pastor. A Parish Associate’s service to the congregation is connected to the installed or temporary Senior Pastor. If a new Senior Pastor is installed, the Parish Associate’s term of service ends — unless it is renewed by the Session with the new Senior Pastor’s approval.

Chris and his wife, Stephanie Wheatley, have been a part of Blacknall since 2008. While studying at Duke, Chris served as a Blacknall Divinity School intern, and later he served as a ruling elder. Chris completed his PhD at Duke University in 2017 and was ordained as a teaching elder in our denomination in 2018. That same year, Chris joined the faculty at Fuller Seminary, where he currently teaches as an Associate Professor of New Testament. Chris and Stephanie have two daughters, Chloë and Marika.

Please welcome Chris into his new role!