Recently we hosted an On-Boarding meeting for the congregation to get to know more about me and for me to get to know more about the congregation. It was well attended, but there were individuals out of town and others who were unable to attend because of prior commitments. I will be using my column in our newsletter during the next few months to address one of the five areas that were discussed during our meeting. This month, I am going to focus on questions asked about me.
I was born in Hutchinson, Kansas. At the age of two my family moved to take over my grandparents’ farm twenty miles from Medicine Lodge, KS. We raised wheat and cattle. At the age of twelve we moved into the town of Medicine Lodge which has a population of approximately two thousand people.
I started out at sixteen teaching a Sunday School class for two- and three-year-olds. As an adult, I taught Sunday School and Bible Studies. I served on committees for Finance, Hospitality and Vacation Bible School. I also sang in the choir and worked in both Children’s and Youth ministries. I began feeling the call to ministry in October of 2018. I started Basic Lay Servant courses and enrolled in the Certified Lay Minister classes in 2019. I was nearing my retirement with the El Paso Independent School District and thought I would like to work in Children’s ministries. During a conversation with the El Paso District Superintendent, I was encouraged to discern if God might have a different role in ministry for me. After praying, I accepted an assignment to serve at Anthony UMC. I served there and helped at FUMC Deming during half of my first year. Since then, I was appointed as a Licensed Local Pastor at Bond Memorial UMC in Clint, Texas for 3 years. During this time, I discerned a call to become an ordained Elder. I recently graduated from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University with a Master if Divinity. I am currently working toward becoming an ordained Elder in the New Mexico Annual Conference.
When I am not working, I love to garden, spend time with my two adult children Trae, thirty-six and Kaitlyn, twenty-six, and travel to learn about other cultures. I have been to forty-five of our fifty states in our United States. I have also traveled abroad to twenty-five countries on five different continents. I have learned to appreciate the unique beauty that diverse cultures bring to our world. My travels overseas have humbled me by seeing how those with little monetary resources come together to support others in their communities. It reminds me of how the early church came together and had all things in common. They were united by the love of Christ working in their lives. It reminds me that Christ’s love compels us to work together for the good of our world.
Pastor Jacqui