Letter of intro

I bid you grace and peace this day!

I am Rev. Cathy and I am excited and thrilled to be candidating to become the next settled pastor at Zion UCC. First and foremost I want to thank the search committee and council as they have worked to get to know me, hosted me for a weekend, worked on a call agreement and figured out how to do this in the midst of a pandemic. They have been absolutely wonderful to work with.

I am excited at the chance to move back to the upper Midwest. I was born and raised in Tomah, WI, which is about an hour and a half northeast of Waukon, and my parents still live there. I did my undergrad at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, where I majored in Geography. After that, I moved to the suburbs of Chicago where I got a job as a cartographer (map maker).

Early on after I moved to the Chicago area, I stepped back into a UCC church for the first time since I was confirmed. After I began to get involved in the church with Bible study, youth group, children’s ministry, mission trips and every other thing I could do, I began to hear a call to ministry that became louder and louder as time went on. With the encouragement of some friends and my dear mentor, I attended Chicago Theological Seminary and graduated in 2013.

In early 2016 I was called to my first church in west central Missouri. I’ve been here for nearly 4 ½ years and have had a chance to fall in love with some amazing people in this church. While I’ve been here I’ve preached, taught Bible study, and walked along side people in their lives in ways I will always hold dear to my heart. I have been an active board member on the city’s food pantry/social service/soup kitchen/thrift shop organization. I’ve also been a part of a board that is attempting to bring a homeless shelter to the town, and thanks to our efforts we have started a warming shelter that operates on the colder nights during the winter.

I’ve also had a chance to do some good work with our association’s committee on ministry, I’ve been a search and call steward to help assist other churches through their own search and call process, and have been active in keeping the conference staff on their toes.

I was asked to keep this short, so I will end by telling you that I am owned by two very spoiled cats, I enjoying playing card games and board games, traveling, and reading.

But most of all, I love having the privilege of walking with people on their life journeys, no matter where they may lead. I am passionate about including everyone and doing what we can to break down barriers to be even more inclusive. I truly believe God loves us exactly as we are, and too much to let us stay that way. And living out of that love and into a new way of being is what I am called to do. And I hope that’s a journey we can take together.

Blessings and peace, Cathy