Sarah Lindsay Selected as Next Rector

Sarah Lindsay

Chosen and recommended to the bishop as Church of the Savior’s next rector

Debra Nickerson, Senior Warden, writes on behalf of the Vestry Search Team:

After months of diligent work, countless meetings, long discussions and much prayer, the search team has completed its work. Synthia Cathcart has been a persistent, dedicated, patient and thorough leader for our team. Once again, I would like to thank her, as well as the rest of the vestry and search team for the hours of time they have devoted to this process.

I am pleased to announce that as of today, the vestry has voted to recommend to the bishop Mother Sarah Lindsay as our next rector. I am even more pleased to say that Mother Sarah has indicated her willingness to proceed with the next and final steps. Should the bishop appoint Mother Sarah as our next rector, I am confident that the Lord will have prepared her to lead this church into the next chapter of our journey together.

Thank you all for your input and prayers throughout this process. We now look forward to facilitating a smooth transition for the Millers, our church staff, and prayerfully and hopefully Mother Sarah. We are in the process of working out some final details, but at this point, should the bishop make the appointment, we are expecting her to begin in the role of rector at the beginning of June after the Millers’ departure.

Debra Nickerson

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Get to Know Mother Sarah Lindsay

Mother Sarah Lindsay currently serves as Pastor of Adult Formation at Church of the Savior, focusing on community-building, education, and worship-service teams. She was ordained a deacon on April 13, 2024, and a priest on May 17, 2025. 

She was born in Dallas, Texas, the oldest of five children, and has three brothers and one sister. Sarah attended Wheaton College, graduating with a BA in English in 2003. She has been an Anglican since she discovered liturgical worship while studying in Oxford as a student at Wheaton College. Sarah then earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May of 2012. She became Assistant Professor of English and Humanities at Milligan University from 2013-2017. While at Milligan, she served as Interim Director of Humanities for 6 months while teaching literature and writing.  

Sarah joined Church of the Savior in 2017, joined the staff in 2018, and has served in almost every ministry area in the church. She began as Family Ministry Coordinator (May 2018 – May 2021), scheduling Children’s Worship volunteers, communicating with volunteers and families, and planning and executing special events for children, youth, and families. During most of that time, Sarah also served as Director of Communications (July 2018 – March 2020), creating weekly orders of worship and newsletters, writing website content, coordinating information for announcements, keeping the church directory and parish register updated, submitting annual reports to the province, assisting with church events, and more. (Sarah also served as a Girl Scout leader for 6 years before taking classes at Northern Seminary.)

From September 2020 to now, Sarah has served as Pastor of Adult Formation. A few of her responsibilities:

·      creating Advent and Lent devotionals

·      organizing 2-3 retreats per year

·      recruiting leaders for book studies

·      launching Formation Groups in 2025

·      launching and leading weekly Wednesday morning prayer 

·      helping provide pastoral care

·      preaching regularly 

·      contacting ministry partners for our Good Friday gift

·      leading the annual Christmas gift drive for Outreach

·      overseeing ministry-team leaders and the logistics of weekly worship services

·      serving as Safety Coordinator for clergy, staff, and volunteers.

In addition, she has served as Holy Week Coordinator, organizing the logistics of all Holy Week services.

Sarah obtained an Anglican Studies Certificate (June 2022) from Northern Seminary in Lisle. She is working on a Doctor of Ministry in Theology at Northern Seminary.  She lives in Wheaton with her husband, Brad, (a software engineer and deacon at Savior), three daughters--Isabel, Claire and Vivian--and two dogs and a bunny. Sarah has a passion for the Middle Ages, baking, knitting, crocheting, and reading.

Please pray for Mother Sarah during this leadership transition. 

The Church is Hurting

By the Rev. Jonathan Abraham Kindberg, Director of C4SO’s Diaspora Network 

In cities across the United States, the Church is hurting. This past year saw massive changes in immigration policy and enforcement in our country, and according to a recent report by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, World Relief, and the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), the majority of those affected are Christians. First Corinthians 12:26 reminds us that “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.” In verse 22 of this same chapter, Paul says that “the parts that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” 

How are current policy changes and enforcement affecting immigrant Christians and thus hurting the Church? These are some of the stories we are hearing directly from our immigrant church partners: 

Iranian Muslim background believers fleeing persecution in Iran are currently held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention with little contact with the outside world. 

Cuban and Burmese brothers and sisters are having their citizenship ceremonies indefinitely postponed with little explanation. 

After harrowing journeys and long legal processes to enter the United States and apply for asylum, Christian Venezuelans are being arrested and deported. 

Haitians have seen their legal protections put in limbo and work authorizations cancelled Visas for Nigerian family members are being blocked. 

Many immigrants are afraid to drive to a Sunday service and are simply staying home.

How Can We Make Sense of What’s Happening?

Some broader statistics and context may be helpful:

73.6% of those arrested nationwide have no criminal convictions.

Most of the people ICE is targeting entered legally. Many of those currently being detained have various forms of legal status including DACA, asylum cases, special immigrant visas (SIV), and lawfully present refugees. 

1 in 12 Christians stands to be deported or have at least one family member deported.

This alarming figure was revealed in the report we cited earlier from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, World Relief, and the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). Unfortunately, we are now seeing this projection become reality. Nearly every immigrant church we work with has someone currently in detention at risk of deportation. 

How do we respond as the Church?

Pray: Join Diaspora Network each Tuesday on Zoom, 10-10:30 a.m. Central Time over Zoom to pray with and for the diaspora community in the US. (Email us for the link).  Join with churches across the country on March 25, 2026 for a special day of prayer and fasting.  

Learn: For a biblical perspective on immigration and other immigration-related resources, go here.

Advocate: Follow our partners at World Relief and The National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NaLEC) for practical advocacy resources and regular updates.

Give: Financially support the Diaspora Network or C4SO immigrant congregations such as Iglesia de Cristo Anglican Church in Kansas City. (Select Iglesia de Cristo from the drop-down menu.) 

Hold on to Hope

In the midst of all the upheaval and stories of suffering, there are glimmers of hope and so many testimonies of faithful resistance and perseverance: 

Iranian believers in Texas are sharing the Gospel with other detainees from Afghan Muslim backgrounds. 

White Christians are bringing food and Bibles to immigrant apartment complexes in Minnesota sheltering in place.

Haitian churches across the country are mobilizing to pray and fast for the continuance of Temporary Protective Status (TPS) and seeing breakthroughs and answers to their prayers. 

These testimonies give me hope and renewed trust in God’s faithfulness in and through his body even as she hurts.

Holy Week

Here is the link for Holy Week prayers!

And here is the link for the Holy Week schedule!

Lent Devotional: Ash Wednesday

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“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry

and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe them,

and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”

Isaiah 58:6-7

Dear Savior Family,

Today marks the beginning of our 40–day journey through Lent toward Easter — a season when Christians around the world choose to slow down, reflect and turn their hearts more intentionally toward Jesus. This season invites all of us into a posture of humility and spiritual renewal.

On Ash Wednesday, we remember that we are dust — fragile, temporary and dependent on grace. As the ashes are placed on our foreheads tonight as a symbol, I invite you to also stand in solidarity with millions of families for whom dust is not symbolic but painfully literal — the dust of bombed neighborhoods, burned villages and long roads walked in search of safety. May this journey toward Easter turn our hearts toward compassion for all who wander, seeking refuge.

This year, Savior is joining a 40–day experience created by World Relief called On the Move to Easter: Walking Toward Easter Alongside People Forced to Flee. It’s a simple, biblically grounded journey that weaves together Scripture, stories, silence and prayer — helping us walk with Jesus and with those experiencing displacement today.

In a world crowded with noise, hurry and overwhelming need, many of us long for deeper connection with God. We desire space to lament honestly, listen quietly and engage the world’s suffering — not ignore it or feel crushed by it. This journey is meant to help us slow down. To sit with God in silence. To open our hearts to the pain of our neighbors — both near and far. To remember displaced families and see them through God’s compassionate eyes. And to discover the strength that comes from trusting a Savior who meets us in suffering and leads us into resurrection hope.

By Easter, our prayer is that we will rediscover courage rooted in Christ, deeper compassion for a hurting world and renewed hope that carries us well beyond this season.

How to Begin Today

To start this journey, I invite you to take two simple steps:

1. Watch & Pray

Watch the Forced to Flee video and take a moment to pray and lament for families displaced by conflict, persecution and poverty. Please note: This video depicts a refugee family fleeing violence and may be upsetting for some audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

2. Sit in Silence & Discern

Spend a few quiet minutes asking God: What might you want me to give up and what do you want me to give back in this season of Lent? This helps us not only relinquish something but become generous and attentive to others as we walk toward Easter.

I look forward to walking this meaningful journey together — following Jesus toward the cross, and toward those who suffer.

Grace and peace,

Mother Sarah

5 Things You'll Need for Lent

February 18th is Ash Wednesday , the start of Lent. On that day, I will, in the words of the Prayer Book, “invite you... to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word.” This journey through Lent is intended for our blessing, but it’s possible for Lent to unintentionally become a burden. Here are some lessons from my mistakes:

• I need the right reason. There’s only 1 good reason to practice the spiritual disciplines. It’s not to make God love me more. It’s not to prove to myself or God or anyone else that I have heroic virtue. (One year I gave up coffee for Lent and became not more holy but more cranky.) The 1 healthy reason to practice disciplines is to make more space in our lives for God. That’s why I like “subtraction-addition” disciplines, where we give up something to add something. For example, Karen has sometimes given up for Lent listening to music or radio in the car (subtraction) so she gains that time to pray (addition). One year, I gave up Starbucks mochas (subtraction) and gave the money I saved to an organization serving the poor (addition).

• I need breathers. The church provides these during Lent every Sunday, the day of resurrection. If you give up, say, chocolate or social media for Lent, it’s not cheating to enjoy those on Sunday. Healthy enjoyment on the Sabbath says, “Even greater than my sin is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

• I need creativity. There is usually more than 1 way to practice a discipline. The way you do it must fit you and your stage of life now, not as you wish it to be. Take fasting. We think of fasting as going without any food. But in the Eastern Orthodox churches, which fast well over 100 days per year, believers don’t fast from all food, but from meat, dairy, eggs, and wine–close to a vegan diet. Other Christians practice a “Daniel fast”--essentially a vegetarian diet. With my Parkinson’s, I can no longer fast for a full day, but I can delay a meal by a few hours; or even harder, fast from using my phone.

• I need to do something. As soon as I consider any discipline, my mind spins off 14 reasons why I can’t do that. It’s just the “whiny kid” part of myself explaining why he shouldn’t have to do homework.

• I need others. During Lent, other Christians help me keep going; reassure me when I fail to keep the disciplines I JUST SET; and confess with me every week, “We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.” Then, when Easter Vigil comes, they help me to sing and dance with joy.