Introducing Brennan Blue

The Pastoral Nominating Committee presented the Rev. Brennan Blue to be the next Senior Pastor of St. Luke Presbyterian Church which was unanimously affirmed by the congregation on Dec 4, 2017.

A Note from the Pastoral Nominating Committee

Dear St. Luke,
 
Your Pastoral Nominating Committee unanimously and enthusiastically recommends Brennan Blue as candidate for Head of Staff at St. Luke Presbyterian Church.
 
We began our search in March 2017 by reading all the congregational materials we could – previous search committee’s work, our recent congregational survey and conversations, work of Ministry in a Changing World and articles that our Transitional Pastor Anita Bradshaw had provided. We then created our Ministry Information Form for potential candidates to get to know St. Luke.
 
When we received Brennan Blue’s Pastoral Information Form, a candidate’s resume, we were impressed by how closely his gifts matched St. Luke’s desires. We were drawn to Brennan’s progressive theology, social justice actions, and his seeing the joy of using creativity in music and arts to celebrate and explore peace, love and justice in worship.
 
Through a deeper time of getting to know each other, we found Brennan to be an astute listener, a warm and compassionate person, one who understood the wide theological tent that is present at St. Luke, and a person with intense energy for being part of a congregation that is also passionate about social justice and learning more deeply about God as we include all ages in our church’s journey.
 
As we talked to people who knew Brennan’s pastoral gifts, they told us:

• Brennan is visionary, a strategic/big thinker who likes to bring others along.
• He's a change agent. As he builds community, he builds consensus.

[Brennan’s] greatest strength is worship leadership, communication is a natural gift, good writer. His energy is contagious. Very bright (he was a Lilly Scholar), committed to justice, inclusivity and inclusive language.

Brennan is deeply compassionate. Will be one of the leading pastors in this denomination!

Brennan is organized, outgoing, joyful, and knowledgeable. Brennan would bring you wonder, enthusiasm and energy should he be called to your congregation.
 
It is with extreme excitement that we present Brennan Blue as our candidate for Head of Staff.  Please read his letter of introduction to us below.  We look forward to you getting to know Brennan and his wife Laura!

St. Luke Pastor Nominating Committee
 
David Bishop, Christina Gregory, Gail Hall, Peg Keenan, Jeff Klepfer, Ginny Larson, Janie Warner & Garrett Winters

Letter from Brennan Blue

Dear St. Luke Members and Friends,

It is with great joy that I write this letter of introduction at the invitation of the St. Luke Pastor Nominating Committee. I am pleased to share the road that has brought me and my family to this day as we hope to join in your ongoing story of peace and justice.

I consider myself a child of the Midwest. Though I was born in Baton Rouge, LA and named after my mom’s favorite restaurant in New Orleans (Brennan’s), my family moved to the suburbs of Detroit when I was very young. I was raised in a quirky, mid-sized, neighborhood Presbyterian church that was a safe-haven for learning, growth and leadership. My summers found me working in the sunny stretches of the Howell Nature Center, as Presbyterian camping and environmental education soon became a hallmark of my spiritual formation.

Originally an engineering major, I was surprised to find myself falling in love with ministry while working part-time for my home church as a youth and music specialist. I can still recall googling “Presbyterian seminaries” in the University of Michigan campus computer labs while trying to figure out what this calling to ministry might mean for me and my future. 

In the fall of 2008, I began my graduate studies at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (LPTS). My three years at LPTS were enriching and transformative. It was here that I encountered beautiful stories of difference and diversity that challenged my worldview and deepened my faith. It was here that liberation, justice, activism, and advocacy became an integral part of my life and calling.

After receiving my Master of Divinity from LPTS, I returned to Michigan and was ordained to serve in my first call as a Resident Minister at First Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor. I have many fond memories of my time in Ann Arbor, though the best will forever be meeting my wife Laura Blue while co-leading a youth service trip.

In 2013, I accepted a call to serve as the Associate Pastor for Families, Youth and Children at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis. Neither Laura nor I had ever previously visited Minneapolis, but we absolutely love it here. Laura wrapped up her Masters in Public Health in Chicago while transitioning up to join me here. She now works for Lutheran Social Service as their Business Development Manager.

Together, we live in a little blue house in South Minneapolis with fruit trees, a dear cat (Lentil) and a lively young dog (Riley). We share a passion for cooking, camping, activism, advocacy and community building. Our newest hobby is “baby prep” as we get ready to welcome our first child into the world in mid-May.

The vision and values of the St. Luke community resonate deeply with my sense of calling as a person and as a pastor. As a strongly progressive and advocacy-oriented Presbyterian pastor, it’s refreshing to encounter a congregation with such a passion for justice and developed vision for your calling. The opportunity to share worship offerings in a flexible space with a joyful, inclusive community strongly appeals to me, body, mind and spirit.

Laura and I have been deeply inspired by St. Luke and look forward to hope of joining our family’s story with yours.

May the peace of God be to you and through you.

Brennan Blue