After graduating from EDS Sarah worked as a Lay Intergenerational Minister at St. Mark’s, Burlington, MA. In 2014 she was ordained in the Diocese of Massachusetts and served parishes in Lynn, Saugus, and Haverhill. She currently works as the General Manager of The Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross (SCHC), an historic international organization of Christian women committed to prayer, spiritual growth, and simplicity of life. She is also General Manager of their retreat center, Adelynrood Retreat and Conference Center, located in Byfield, MA.
“From the formal classes and informal conversations with professors and my peers I learned that discerning one’s vocation is not the search for some ultimate, finite goal. Rather it is the ongoing process of remaining open to the possibilities, especially those impossible possibilities,” shared the Rev. van Gulden. “These were vital lessons as I discerned a call to ordained ministry. However, during the Covid pandemic I began to question whether I still felt called to serve as a parish priest. Fortunately, I found my copy of “Let your Life Speak” by Parker Palmer filled with notes from my time at EDS. It encouraged me to discern how skills I learned at EDS could be shared in the religious non-profit sector which led me to SCHC. One of these skills is putting aside my ego or as David Brooks calls it, putting aside my heroic sense (“The Quiet Magic of Middle Managers”, The New York Times, April 11, 2024). As General Manager I lead not from my ego but from a place of humility that encourages others to practice their own gifts of leadership.”