Places I have called home
I live in west-central Indiana, serving the three wonderful churches of Trinity Parish
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In Northern Ireland, as an International Volunteer at Correymeela Center for Reconciliation, I worked with a community of Believers to apply the power of the gospel to challenge entrenched hate and fear and transform society.
In Ghana, West Africa, I undertook part of my Seminary training and served in local churches. The crushing poverty forced me to face the implications of my faith and my privilege. The soaring hope and strength and determination of my brothers and sisters there inspired me to face my fears. They still do.
Alaska – Barrow, on the northern tip of North America, I served in a land where the summer sun never sets and the cloud of grief seldom lifts, I learned the finer skills of pastoral care and the power of silence.
- Fairbanks, where the ocean can’t be seen but the Northern Lights can, I developed a love for and skill at using the power of the outdoors in spiritual formation and Christian Education through youth work and as Director of Bingle Camp Ministries.
- Wrangell, one among hundreds of islands cradled in a nest of grey ocean, is where I learned the most powerful lessons in what it means to pastor a flock. The strength (knowing each other, safe streets, and a willingness to help) and the weakness (gossip, entrenched loyalties, LONG memories) of small town life are unrelenting teachers.
Hawaii - childhood memories abound but adult ones were added when I returned. This time, setting up home on the Big Island, where a bustling boarding school and then a mature congregation steeped in a rich heritage were my fields to tend.
Portland, Oregon called to me in order to attend to family responsibilities. There I discovered the wonder of urban living and the vibrant rhythm of city life. I also worked on several writing projects and was a participant in the Academy for Missional Preaching; a year long program focused on preaching for a select group of PCUSA pastors.
Indiana called me and my husband out of the city and into the rich soil of three rural communities where we have been amazed by the depth of relationships in the churches we serve and the opportunities these communities afford. As founding pastors of the Trinity Parish, we are blessed (and confounded) by all that God is bringing about, as these churches grow in love and service and hope.
In Ghana, West Africa, I undertook part of my Seminary training and served in local churches. The crushing poverty forced me to face the implications of my faith and my privilege. The soaring hope and strength and determination of my brothers and sisters there inspired me to face my fears. They still do.
Alaska – Barrow, on the northern tip of North America, I served in a land where the summer sun never sets and the cloud of grief seldom lifts, I learned the finer skills of pastoral care and the power of silence.
- Fairbanks, where the ocean can’t be seen but the Northern Lights can, I developed a love for and skill at using the power of the outdoors in spiritual formation and Christian Education through youth work and as Director of Bingle Camp Ministries.
- Wrangell, one among hundreds of islands cradled in a nest of grey ocean, is where I learned the most powerful lessons in what it means to pastor a flock. The strength (knowing each other, safe streets, and a willingness to help) and the weakness (gossip, entrenched loyalties, LONG memories) of small town life are unrelenting teachers.
Hawaii - childhood memories abound but adult ones were added when I returned. This time, setting up home on the Big Island, where a bustling boarding school and then a mature congregation steeped in a rich heritage were my fields to tend.
Portland, Oregon called to me in order to attend to family responsibilities. There I discovered the wonder of urban living and the vibrant rhythm of city life. I also worked on several writing projects and was a participant in the Academy for Missional Preaching; a year long program focused on preaching for a select group of PCUSA pastors.
Indiana called me and my husband out of the city and into the rich soil of three rural communities where we have been amazed by the depth of relationships in the churches we serve and the opportunities these communities afford. As founding pastors of the Trinity Parish, we are blessed (and confounded) by all that God is bringing about, as these churches grow in love and service and hope.