The Rev. Sierra Reyes, interim associate for ministries, knows firsthand the challenges and excitement of being new to the Diocese of Chicago. That’s why Reyes, who joined the bishop’s staff last year, was especially pleased when she was assigned was to lead the diocese’s Fresh Start program alongside Bishop Paula Clark—another newcomer to the diocese.

The diocese has used Fresh Start, a curriculum from the Episcopal Church Foundation, for six years as a way for new clergy to build relationships and learn the diocese’s ministry models. Pandemic-era turnover meant that this year’s cohort was especially large, with 27 priests who are either new to the diocese or new in their positions taking part.

“We know that clergy who are connected into their diocese and peer groups tend to serve longer in their parishes,” said Reyes, who has been a priest for eleven years and served in three dioceses before coming to Chicago. “Isolated clergy or those without strong relationships in their regions are more likely to burn out. COVID, of course, isolated people, so Fresh Start becomes even more significant.”

She says it has been “beautiful” to lead Fresh Start alongside Bishop Clark, who attended both the first and last Fresh Start sessions this year and dropped in to other meetings when her calendar permitted. “Bishop Clark’s presence allowed new clergy to speak with her in a more personal setting and build that relationship between priest and bishop,” Reyes said.

The Rev. Suzanne Wille came to the diocese to serve as rector of All Saints’, Chicago after nine years in the Diocese of Indianapolis. She began participating in Fresh Start soon after her arrival in September 2021. “Fresh Start in this diocese was the best I’ve experienced!” she said. “The combination of using our own in-house expertise from diocesan staff and College of Congregational Development trainers, bringing in outside experts on topics like conflict management and connecting parishes to their communities, and a fantastic clergy cohort meant that I learned a lot, though I am a ‘seasoned’ rector, and made deep connections with other priests of this diocese. This has been a great start to a new ministry!”

Although the Rev. Adam Spencer is no stranger to the diocese, having graduated from the University of Chicago Divinity School in 2016 and served at Church of the Atonement and La Rabida Children’s Hospital, he has found Fresh Start invaluable in his return to the diocese after two years in New York City.

“Getting the chance to meet regularly with a group of fellow clergy who were also just getting started in new positions was incredibly helpful,” said Spencer, who became rector of St. Elisabeth’s, Glencoe, in early 2021. “It was so good to be able to share honestly about the challenges and the joys that come with being new at this. The support, insight and plain old friendship that I found in that group helped me traverse so many of the challenges of being a first-time rector.”

Spencer was especially grateful for his Fresh Start mentor, the Rev. Bob Petite, when, last July, a gunman killed seven people and wounded dozens of others during the Independence Day parade in nearby Highland Park.

“We had a very difficult summer at Saint Elisabeth’s last year,” said Spencer, who credited his clergy mentor with being there for him “every step of the way with … wit and warmth, critical mind and pastoral heart. We spoke the same language of pastoral care, theology, liturgy. I don’t know how [the Rev.] Andrea Mysen [the diocese’s director of ministries] chooses our mentors, but she could not have possibly done a better job with mine!”

The Episcopal Church is contending with a clergy shortage, and so clergy retention is a key goal of Fresh Start. But particularly for clergy who are new rectors, the program also provides tools for congregations looking to explore new avenues for ministry.

“Questions look different based on where you are doing ministry,” Reyes said. “I’m seeing that the lived investment in the health and wellness of clergy and lay leaders benefits the health and wellness of the diocese and its ministry.”

The Rev. Dr. Jo Ann Lagman, a family medicine physician and rector of St. David’s, Aurora, was ordained to the priesthood in 2021 after serving at St. Mark’s, Glen Ellyn while she was preparing for ordination. Despite her busy schedule, she valued Fresh Start not only for the relationships it fostered with other clergy, but also for the resources it provided for parish ministry. “It has certainly enriched me as a person and as a priest, and I bring that knowledge and shared experiences from my colleagues to my congregation,” she said.

Clergy participate in the diocesan Fresh Start program for two years, and Reyes expects the group forming in the fall to include about a dozen new clergy alongside a dozen in their second year. But even priests who have finished the program continue to reap its benefits.

“Priesthood can sometimes feel like a lonely road,” Spencer said. “As I look back on the experience, Fresh Start helped me realize that I’m not alone at all, but am in fact surrounded by some really wonderful clergy colleagues and friends walking that very same road alongside me.”

image: Bishop Clark with Fresh Start clergy at a meeting in March