The Rev. Kara Bussabarger, the new pastor of Christ United Methodist Church in downtown Westfield, was selected to participate in the prestigious, highly-competitive, two-year Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program at Wabash College, a Lilly Endowment-sponsored program for the purpose of leadership development and theological reflection.
The Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program engages pastors in the exploration of critical economic, educational and political challenges that face Indiana communities and help them develop the knowledge and skills to become stronger leaders in their congregations and communities.
“From a number of outstanding pastors who applied, we selected a representative group with very high potential for leadership from diverse churches throughout Indiana,” said Program Directors Dr. Derek Nelson and The Rev. Libby Davis Manning. “They have rich academic backgrounds and life experiences, and we look forward to lively discussions of important issues and challenges that face communities and churches in Indiana.”
Pastors involved in the program will meet during a two-year period to meet with civic, government, business and religious leaders to discuss issues that affect local Indiana communities. The pastors will learn about a range of topics, such as statewide efforts to strengthen public education, Indiana economic initiatives, the impact of immigration on local communities, and advances in medical research and their impact on health care.
In addition, the pastors will participate in a study tour to the Mexican-American border to examine immigration issues during the first year and an international study tour to South Africa in the second year of the program to learn about transnational contexts.
The Rev. Kara Bussabarger started as the new Senior Pastor at Christ United Methodist Church in downtown Westfield in July. She completed and earned her Bachelor’s degree at Indiana State University and her Master of Divinity degree from Louisville Seminary, where she was awarded the Melanie Lane Preaching Award.
For further information about the Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program, please see pastor.wabash.edu.
For more information on Christ United Methodist Church in Westfield, please see christwestfield.org.