As my parents’ only child, I was born on Mother’s Day and baptized on Father’s Day and in my baptism, the Holy Spirit began the work of growing me spiritually in relationship with God and with others. I grew up in Minneapolis, MN. When I was a young child, my mother had to be hospitalized for an extended time and this was followed by months of rehab. During this time, I stayed with my godparents and experienced God’s love expressed through their care. Growing up, my parents were not particularly “religious” but they were supportive of my Sunday School and youth group participation. I graduated from a Lutheran high school and a Lutheran university, being steeped in the fundamentals of what it meant to be a Lutheran Christian.
I met my husband my senior year of college and we married and lived in northwest Indiana. He was a businessman and I worked as a social worker. His two sons were quickly wrapped into the fullness of our life together, a life enriched with the birth of our son. Over the years that followed, I was led by the Holy Spirit into other professional pursuits. Real estate, law, project management – all of these contributed to my knowledge and skills as a professional. As these various positions brought new challenges and opportunities, I increasingly felt the call to ordained ministry.
With the support of my family and dear friends, I began the candidacy process in the Florida-Bahamas Synod, attended Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC. I graduated in 2008, was called to Grace Lutheran Church in Clearwater where I was ordained in 2008. In 2014, I was called to serve at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Nashville, TN.
Two of my sons live in the Tampa Bay area with their wives and my granddaughter. Another lives in Indianapolis with his wife. In 2014 after 39 years of marriage, my husband died after a short but serious illness. While in Nashville, a sweet cat, Sadie, entered my life through an open patio door and has been quite at home since then.
