Category Archives: story

Teaching Elder, Ordained November 1983. I woke up at 3:00 a.m. in the well-used Community Center of Bernal, New Mexico, for the first day of my recent pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayo in northern New Mexico. After a quick … Continue reading →

Ruling Elder, Ordained September 2007.   When I was a kid I remember playing hide and seek with my brothers and other friends in the neighborhood. I grew up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas surrounded by trees and … Continue reading →

Teaching Elder,  Ordained April 2012.   Katie has been serving the Church of Reconciliation in Chapel Hill, NC, for ten years in an unordained position, remaining a candidate under care.  New Hope Presbytery voted to approve her ordination in February. Over the … Continue reading →

Teaching Elder, Ordained 2004.   Many people ask me when it was that I first felt a call to ordained ministry. There barely is a time that I did not feel one. Trinity Presbyterian Church, a congregation just outside of … Continue reading →

Ruling Elder, Ordained 1992.   I am a cradle Presbyterian, currently a member of Morningside Presbyterian Church, a welcoming and inclusive congregation where I serve as choir member and food pantry worker.  I was brought up in the church with … Continue reading →

Ruling Elder, Ordained 1976.   Simply defined, grace is the belief that God’s love is freely given. There is nothing we can do to earn God’s love and there is nothing we can do to lose God’s love.  It is … Continue reading →

Teaching Elder, Ordained 2012.   When I was 18, I told my mom I was gay.  She immediately responded that she loved me completely and always would.  She then added, “Only two things pain me.  I think you would be … Continue reading →

Deacon, Ordained 2009.   I grew up in the Presbyterian Church, in a pretty “normal” and supportive family.  I have been blessed to always feel love, support, and encouragement from my parents, extended family, and church family. I have been … Continue reading →

Teaching Elder, Ordained 1957.   The call to be a minister first appeared in my heart and consciousness during my early teens.  The awareness that I was gay began a little earlier than that, although I did not know what … Continue reading →

Ruling Elder, Ordained 2004.   A few months ago, something unjust was going on at my daughter’s middle school. She’s 14 now, and I’ve been politely given some direct info about what I am and am not allowed to do (sending … Continue reading →

Teaching Elder, Ordained 1986.   Defining Choice Yes, I am a person who has the freedom to choose. For it seems choice is a firmly fixed element in our DNA, a topic of human conversation from the beginning of time. … Continue reading →

Ruling Elder, Ordained 2009.   For the longest time, I attended Forest Hill Presbyterian Church without joining.  I sat on the edge of the pew, always near the window, looking at the sky, watching the common finches fly in and out … Continue reading →

Ruling Elder, Ordained 1984.   I grew up in the Presbyterian Church, all my grandparents were active and my Dad is a retired Presbyterian minister. After graduation from Eckerd College, I wanted  to be active in my new church, and was … Continue reading →

Deacon, Ordained 1980. Ruling Elder, 2011.   I have been a member of a Presbyterian church for as long as I can remember. Both my father and one of my brothers are Presbyterian teaching elders (ministers). Being an active part of my church … Continue reading →

Executive Director of the Wisconsin Council of Churches, Ordained as a Teaching Elder on October 8, 2011.   We are honored to have Scott’s permission to post his story as the first among the many we hope to add to this … Continue reading →