Where to even begin! It’s so hard to get to know someone in such a short snapshot, but I’ll do my best. Church has always been apart of my upbringing. I was a member of the United Church of Christ denomination when I was an infant until we moved to Bozeman when I was four. Then we found the Disciples of Christ church there.
I’ve been a Disciples ever since. From church camps (which I went to every year at Cane Ridge West, even when we lived in Los Angeles for two years), to Regional Assemblies (I was RYC President, member of the Mission Committee, and more), to General Assemblies (my first was Portland 2005), I have always been involved in our denomination.
I felt my call to ministry when I was just fourteen at church camp, avoided my call like any scared teenager, headed to college at Pacific Lutheran University where I ended up with a BA in Religion. Headed home to work until I realized I couldn’t avoid seminary any longer and applied to Brite Divinity School for my MDiv in 2011.
It was in Texas that I met Nathan. He was working at a local grocery chain and going to school for his Bachelor’s at University of Texas. We got married on our one-year anniversa
ry of our first date and had moved to Kansas that same week to begin my new call. We have two toddlers (yes, send the caffeine!), Parker who is four and Ardis who will be two in August, both full of endless energy.
We love geeky and nerdy things—Battlestar Galactica (2004) is what brought Nathan and I together. We also love the outdoors, camping and fishing, and generally just being in the sun.
As a minister, I absolutely love visioning. It is one of my favorite parts of ministry. I love to gathe
r ideas from everyone, sort through them all, and then discuss where we might go from here, which is why as I was reading your profile this church called to me. Having a clear and well-thought vision is what brings us together for one goal (see Nehemiah if you need someone with a vision) and makes the work of ministry that much easier.
Visions, however, take a lot of time and patience to create and to sort through. It’s not just a quick snap of your fingers and poof we have a vision. It’s the process I love; the process of learning who we are in Christ and who we want to be in Christ that gives me the most satisfaction and energy in leading a congregation.
We are all unique—that’s probably one of the best gifts God could have ever given us. Our uniqueness is how we reach more people with the message of the Good News, with the message that we are all loved unconditionally by our Creator and that we too have faith that can and will move mountains.