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A few years ago, ruling elder Clara Harper, then a member at Highland Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, was eager to get more involved. She felt she had exhausted earlier options for service — engagement in youth group, the Montreat Youth Conference Planning Team, and Presbyterian Youth Triennium. She was open to serve as a ruling elder as an opportunity to respond to a call she had been experiencing to take the next step into leadership within the church without needing to go to seminary.

The daughter of a minister and a church professional in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Clara experienced the journey that her mother and father traveled through their training and ministry.  She respected their processes and their calls, but Clara knew that while she wanted to be involved in a deeper way,  she was called to something else — something different than her parents.

As a young child she toyed with the possibility that she should be a youth minister like her dad. She knew she liked being around other people, liked sharing and being part of the hands and feet of Christ. But still it was clear to her that a seminary degree was not for her. She was clear that there was more than one way to be in servant leadership.  After a period of prayer and discernment, she was able to say “yes” to the invitation to serve the congregation as a ruling elder.

“I had graduated high school and I was kind of excited to take on a role with a more adult perspective, even though I was only 19! It's funny to look back now — to think I was so adult,” Clara said. “But it was really something I felt called to do, and I really enjoyed serving communion; that was one of the things I enjoyed most.”

Interestingly, although Clara did not follow the path to ministry with youth in the church, she is definitely ministering to young people as the assistant director of admissions and coordinator of Westminster Scholars at her alma mater, Austin College in Sherman, Texas. Clara serves in the admissions office recruiting students, reading their applications and making decisions about who to accept for admission. Beyond the walls of the congregation, Clara is clearly using the gift of discernment she developed as a ruling elder.

The Westminster Scholar Awards that Clara coordinates serve to provide “a college experience designed to help [a Presbyterian student] lead a transformative life.” With a bequest of $20 million, beginning in 2024-25 Austin College is able to offer “full tuition for students on the membership roll of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) church,” and, in addition, the award covers “housing and meal plan costs for the children of full-time PC(USA) clergy and staff.”

The opportunity to speak with youth and their families during one-on-one visits to congregations during Sunday worship is one of the rewarding aspects of Clara’s call and her position with Austin College.  Expressions of gratitude from parents and students when they receive the news of the gift they are receiving are often accompanied by handwritten letters and tears. “Which is very sweet, but I’m not the one giving them the money.  I am just the messenger!” Clara remarked.

Ruling elder Clara Harper may not have become a youth minister like her dad, but she is certainly ministering to youth as a faithful ruling elder, praying for and serving the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love.

Questions for reflection:

  1. Discernment of call and identification of gifts was paramount in Clara’s story. Which of your own talents and skills have you utilized when responding to your call within and/or outside of the church walls?
  2. What programs, initiatives, and/or strategies are available in your congregation for youth and young adults to develop leadership skills for their service in the congregation and in the church at large? Are there particular programs in place or that could be put in place?
  3. As a ruling elder, Clara strongly believes that it is a gift for students to maintain strong connections to their church community while they are in college. How might ruling elders in your congregation ensure that the bonds and connections with college students are maintained and strengthened?

valerie izumi is a ruling elder serving the Office of the General Assembly as an assistant stated clerk, coordinating the General Assembly nominations process.

Throughout 2023 and 2024, monthly "Regarding Ruling Elders" articles alternate between a deep dive into the ways ruling elders discern and measure the life of a congregation through the ministry of members and stories about how ruling elders are using their call and gifts as they move within and beyond the walls of the congregation.

Subscribe to receive notifications of monthly "Regarding Ruling Elders" articles. Visit the PC(USA) Leader Formation website for more resources for ruling elders and deacons. For more information, email Martha Miller, editor of "Regarding Ruling Elders."