Trusting God's Grace — JK Montgomery

The Lenten season is especially busy for the pastors and staff. With two services a week, culminating in Holy Week services and Easter Sunday, it can be a physically and mentally draining time for church workers. My newly called colleagues in ministry talk quite a bit about “pacing” themselves.

When considering her call to ministry, Pastor Steinlinn Bjornsdóttir was concerned about the consuming nature of the job, telling a story of a young pastor in her church who started out energetic and enthusiastic before suffering “bad burnout.” Steinlinn said, “ It really affected me. I didn’t want to go down that path.”

Relying on God’s grace is the way she has stayed realistic in the demands of the job, as well as optimistic about the future. Here's how Steinlinn responded when asked about grace.

Steinlinn brings her background as a journalist and communications work for the ecumenical church community into her ministry. She felt her call affirmed by others while working at the bishop’s office. This affirmed the inner call she felt from her youth.

As a teenager, Steinlinn said she followed a “long and crooked path." She was serious about her faith, but did not appreciate some of the “easy answers” she was given as a young person. After secondary school she decided to study theology for herself, even studying Greek on the island of Cyprus. “The first year I studied theology was like being in love—as no other feeling.”

Preaching a message of grace is the legacy Steinlinn would like to leave as her mark on the church: “As one who was consistent in following Christ, and giving the message of grace while I’m here.”