Sandy Richter has been on staff at Savior since 2015, first as the Children's Ministry Coordinator and now as the Pastor of Adult Formation. In today's post, get to know Sandy and her passion for spiritual formation.
What is your role at Church of the Savior?
Pastor of Adult Formation, which means I am responsible for two major areas of our church life. One, I help to support and oversee our many ministry team leaders, including those who lead our set-up team, our meals ministry, our prayer and communion ministers, our small group leaders, and more. Two, I help to shape and shepherd our corporate spiritual formation, which includes coordinating and leading our silent retreats, creating devotional materials, preaching a few times a year, and discerning how to strengthen and support the rich tradition of spiritual formation in our community. Frederick Buechner describes vocation as the place where our greatest joy meets the world’s greatest needs. I love the way my job as Pastor of Adult Formation allows me to express my passions for spiritual formation, leadership development and teaching in a way serves our community. It has truly been a joy.
Where do you live now, and where are you from?
I live with my husband, Ian, and three kids, Kiah (10), Elle (8) and Ezra (6) in Oak Park, where we share a two-flat with our longtime friends and two adorable cats Sunshine and Pazu. I moved around a lot before coming to Wheaton for college. I came here from the Pacific Northwest which is still a heart home for me.
What do you do for fun?
I’m passionate about people, so I spend a lot of time getting to know my neighbors, deepening relationships with friends, discerning ways to encourage people in their life and faith journey. I also love to play board games, to read fiction, especially mysteries, and to watch tv and movies.
What are you reading?
The past few months I have been rereading David Benner’s *Surrender to Love*, which is probably my most recommended book of all time. It’s been great to sink back into the good news of God’s love in this run through, and to see the things that stand out to me this time around. As Benner says, “There is nothing more important in life that learning to love and be loved… \[and] Christianity is the world’s great love religion. The Christian God comes to us as love, in love, for love. The Christian God woos us with love and works our transformation through love.” Isn’t that such good news?
How can people get involved in the ministry you lead?
If you are interested in being involved in a specific ministry area, please contact our ministry team lead who oversees that area. If you would like to know more about spiritual formation, if you’d like to be involved in a small group, if you’d just like to talk about life and faith and the intersection thereof, give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to talk more.