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By Crystal Reith Pastor Anna Tucker says she felt God calling her to the ministry for as long as she can remember.
“I don’t remember wanting to be anything else,” said the Colorado Springs, Colorado native. “I really felt God called me to serve Him, serve the Word and walk alongside the people, in good times and bad times.”
Tucker was installed October 26 at Faith Community Lutheran Church, a Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ church formed in fall 2021.
She has been ordained just over nine years, first entering ministry in October 2016. She earned a Bachelors of Arts degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and a Masters of Divinity from Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, in May 2016.
For the past nine years, she served in Colorado Springs as pastor of Emmanuel’s Table, a house church ministry. She also worked part-time as an administrative pastor at Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church and regularly provided pulpit supply for area congregations.
As for her recent relocation, Tucker said that she felt this past spring it had become apparent that God was calling her out of Colorado. As she prayed with colleagues over the summer, several encouraged her to look at Slayton. She also had a conversation with her dad who wasn’t aware she had been considering a move.
“Out of nowhere, he said that small towns in Minnesota are really great,” said Tucker.
From there, she connected with Faith Community Lutheran Church, submitted her information to the congregation, interviewed with the call team and eventually made a visit.
“I felt very at home and welcomed,” she said. “The community here was very much something we wanted to be a part of. It felt like a good place for our kids, a community that knows each other and comes together around things. They can walk or ride their bikes to school and just be part of a town where people know them. Being able to be in a community like that is really appealing.”
Tucker’s husband, Jesse, and the couple’s two daughters will join the Slayton community this winter when they move from Colorado.
As for the congregation, Tucker hopes to help the church’s 82 registered families deepen their relationship with God and with one another. She also hopes to focus on youth ministry.
“We don’t have a lot going on after confirmation,” said Tucker. “I want to continue to connect with those kids and let them know we’re here for them.”
She also hopes to expand adult faith formation opportunities and offer different ways for adult faith engagement.
“We have awesome involvement. They have been carrying the congregation for the last several years,” said Tucker, who is excited to connect with people. “I get to walk alongside people, to be present with them and get invited into both joyous moments and really hard brokenness. I get to be a calm presence in those moments to sit with people and speak God’s word in those moments.”
Although she’s eager to walk with others and share God’s word, she knows she cannot walk the journey alone.
“If I try to do it myself, I will fail,” she said. “God is active and leading and guiding. He makes the way for His church. I need people to walk alongside me, both personally and in the parish. Ministry is really a team effort.”
For anyone searching for a church home, Tucker offers some simple advice.
“Visit, talk to people and don’t be afraid to ask questions of both the pastor and the people of the congregation. Seek God’s guidance,” she said. “People are very welcome here.”
