personal background

 I am a minister, wife and mother, with two boys ages 13 & 11.  My husband and I have been married almost 19 years, and we continue—by the grace of God—to successfully negotiate the joys and challenges of not only our interracial marriage, but also raising a child on the autism spectrum. 

Originally from Newport News, VA, I grew up in the Southern Baptist Church (pre-fundamental takeover).  My journey of faith took me far and wide seeking a denomination where I could realize a calling to ministry experienced at age 15.  Invited by a friend to teach Sunday School at Broadway UCC, I “came home” to Christ’s Table when I discovered the justice-focused United Church of Christ.  Living in New York City at the time of the tragedy of September 11, 2001, I was inspired to find my way to the ordination track with the Metro Association of the UCC.

Watching my (future) colleagues go out to the streets to comfort God’s people, I found certainty that I belonged with them.  Those events shaped me to believe that much of ministry is bridge-building: helping strangers become friends, helping all God’s people connect to something greater, something divine.

In a time when involvement is declining in many churches, I believe nurturing and sincere ministry can ‘beat’ that apathy.  If we as ministers can help people connect with one another and with God, then Body of Christ will thrive in this modern and changing world.  I take seriously the practice of hospitality, and work to make every person I encounter feel a needed and welcomed part of the community.

I am a crazy and passionate believer in the Body of Christ, in His Church, and refuse to believe that the growth and enthusiasm I see each day in my congregation is special only to this setting.  From theological institutions to the smallest local congregation, the Body of Christ will live if we as its members can successfully make connections with one another and with God.  I am convinced that every believer is called to discipleship and ministry— not only the ordained—and if we are willing to spend the time to make the connections and “do the work” of the Gospel, we can make a difference in this world for God’s Realm.

Learn more about my education here.

Learn more about the places where I have served here.