Pastor's Page

Mike Chamberlain will begin to serve as the interim pastor at Gethsemane on May 1. His first service with us will be Sunday May 2 and he will lead the Mother's Day BLESS service Sunday May 9 at 9:30 a.m.   

Mike and his wife,  Dot were born and raised as Kentuckians and are graduates of Western Kentucky University.  They have three adult children and four grandsons.  Their daughter and her family live in Lexington and they have recently moved here to be near them.

After graduating from college, Mike served in the U.S. Army. Then during the intervening years before entering the ministry, he taught school, worked in state government, and later, in private business. He mentioned that he felt most on purpose when he was elected and served as member and chairman of the Barren County (Kentucky) Board of Education.

Mike accepted the call to ministry in 1974; attended the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary in Louisville, KY and graduated with a Master of Divinity Degree in 1977.  

Mike has spent over thirty years in what our denomination calls an Intentional Interim Pastor, serving several churches, both smaller and mid-sized. As an Interim Pastor, he not only serves in the traditional roles of a permanently called pastor, but also assists the local congregation in identifying their strengths and call to ministry for the coming years. Beyond seminary training, he has added schooling and certification that has prepared him to serve in this specialized category of ministry for congregations that are living the interim time between pastors.

He has observed that, had he and Dot remained in the regularly called ministries, as do most pastors, it would have been much easier for them; but he has found it most challenging and full of purpose to journey with congregations who are raising the next generations of ministry.

The Presbyterian Church USA is a full communion partner with the ELCA, and this placement was discussed and supported by both our I-K Synod Bishop Bill Gafkjen and the General Presbyter Rev. Philip Lotspeich of the Transylvania Presbytery.

We look forward to getting to know Mike and Dot as we welcome them to Gethsemane.