Beloved Prince of Peace Community,

With deep gratitude…

I write to inform you that I have accepted a call to serve as Interim Co-Lead Pastor at Edina Community Lutheran Church. In conversation with the council and synod leadership we have determined that my last day serving at Prince of Peace will be Friday, October 11.

I joined this staff nearly twenty years ago…

This is where I worked with youth and families and then discerned a call to ordained ministry. You accompanied me through seminary classes and contextual learning – and then you called me to be one of your pastors. This longevity has been a gift I treasure. I give thanks for every family and extended family I have come to know through life events, both celebrations and sorrows alike. It is and has been a blessing and a privilege to be invited into multiple milestones with people you are called to love – and do!

I have been part of this community…

almost as long as I have been married to Sam. This congregation has been integral to my identities as a mother, an author, a podcaster, and a pastor in many seasons and iterations of call.

Over the years…

I have accepted several invitations to consider calls in other congregations or expressions of ministry. Each of these opportunities for discernment clarified something I needed to know about myself, while pointing me back to and solidifying my call at Prince of Peace. I trusted each process fully, knowing that if it was the time to leave, a path would be made for me, and each time I trusted my call remained to Prince of Peace. These various call processes also taught me that trusting the process fully meant trusting whomever was called to each of those places and roles instead of me was the best and right person.

My process with Edina Community Lutheran Church has been different, a clear and Spirit-driven call to something and somewhere new.

I am grateful…

for the elected leaders of this congregation and for our shared discernment about the next right thing for Prince of Peace. They have been so faithful in their care for me and for you. I know they will continue to do faithful and brave work in the face of the unknown, and I trust the Holy Spirit is already preparing the heart of a pastor for this very purpose and place – and that your courage and clarity during a season of change will make room for all that is to come.

With big love and immense gratitude,

Pastor Natalia Terfa

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Dear Prince of Peace,

It is with many emotions that we accept the resignation of our beloved Pastor Natalia Terfa.

While we are grieving her departure and will miss her ministry among us, we are also filled with gratitude for the time, dedication, and love that she has shared with our community for nearly 20 years.

We are confident that God is blessing both Pastor Natalia and Prince of Peace in this season of transition. Trusting that she is being called by the Spirit to a new opportunity, Pastor Natalia has

our full support and encouragement. We know she will continue to inspire and lead in her new role as Interim Co-Lead Pastor at Edina Community Lutheran Church.

The whole community is invited to join us in expressing our heartfelt thanks to Pastor Natalia for her faithful service to this congregation on her final Sunday October 6th. The Church Council will also be hosting a farewell gathering at Prince of Peace on October 23 at 6:00pm. Come celebrate her time with us and wish her well.

Please keep Pastor Natalia and her family in your prayers during this time of transition. Let us also pray for the mission and ministry of our congregation, that the Spirit would help us discern what’s next one bold and faithful step at a time.

In faith and fellowship,

Prince of Peace Church Council