New Students, Fall 2003

Seeds planted at camp:
Jennifer Kingstorf

While in high school Jennifer Kingstorf recalls that her pastor asked her if she’d ever thought of becoming a pastor. "I put the idea on the back burner," she says. It was then that she began the first of a series of summers at Camp Calumet, a Lutheran camping and retreat center in Freedom, NH, in her native New England. "It was there that I most felt God’s love and it being shared with everyone," she remembers. After college she worked as an English teacher. Later she tried serving in various after school programs, working with elementary school children in the suburbs, then with urban pre-teens and adolescents. Then she took a position as a youth director and secretary at First Lutheran Church of the Reformation in New Britain, CT. "It took me a few more years to realize that I wanted to be a pastor," she says. Jennifer gives thanks to her family, friends and other parishioners for contributing to her discernment process. "through constant love, support and encouragement I have finally made it to seminary. I’ve come to understand that through different jobs and experiences, God has blessed me with many gifts that will work well in my role as a pastor." She is just wondering now where the ministry will occur. "Missionary work? Urban programming? Country parish? Those questions won’t be answered for a while, and they won’t be answered by me anyway. I’m just praying to get the most out of my four years at seminary to deepen my faith, develop strong friendships and gain more skills to aid me as a pastor in spreading the word and love of God."