Meet Sarah Hoogendoorn, the CRC's Newly Endorsed* Chaplain!

Hello! My name is Sarah Hoogendoorn. After graduating from Western Theological Seminary in 2011, I began working as the Director of Outreach at Inglewood CRC in Edmonton, Alberta. While I loved the congregation and knew I was called into ministry, I began wrestling with what type of ministry God was calling me into. I left the position after finishing the EPMC program through Calvin Theological Seminary and I decided to postpone my ordination candidacy with the CRCNA for a year to do some discernment work. 

During that year, the opportunity for a CPE residency at the Sioux Falls VA Health Care System opened up, and I took a chance on an option I had never before considered.  God has opened a passion within me I didn't know existed. From August 2016 to September 2017 I was able to serve and learn as a resident at the Sioux Falls VA Health Care System. In October of this year, I began another year long residency, this time with a specialization in the area of Mental Health and interdisciplinary work, again within the veteran population, now at the VA in St. Cloud, Minnesota. I am so excited for the work I do with veterans on a daily basis and hope to continue serving this unique population as I move forward on the chaplaincy journey. I am currently still a candidate for ordination, and look forward to this call God has placed in my life coming to fullness someday soon.

In my spare time I work at Starbucks (resident salary, after all) and enjoy coffee as it should be enjoyed (black). I love to engage my creative side by coloring and writing and listening to audiobooks. I also enjoy cooking food, trying new food, and really anything that involves food. 

*Endorsement is provisional until ordination requirement is met.