Briefly describe your family, occupation, and professional and community involvement.
Our household is at a time of major milestones. Happily, our family grew last summer when daughter Zoe married Schuyler. Their home is in the shadow of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. My daily life is about to shift: I retire this Spring after a professional career spanning more than 40 years—from university administration to environmental services leadership. It will be a striking change to not be in constant touch with the Northeast team I built and mentored during the last several years. Concerning communities, I’ve served in leadership positions on several volunteer boards, including Northshore Lutheran Church, Rotary Club of Everett, and the South Sound Chamber of Commerce.
How long have you regularly attended worship at Good Samaritan? In which ministries have you been involved and in what capacity?
We discovered Good Sam in 2023, and have been involved with small groups ever since, most notably InSight Women’s Ministry and Healing Hands and Hearts (prayer shawl crafters). I am honored to read alongside other lectors at the 9 am service. During Advent, Dale and I volunteered with the Christmas tree sales team. Recently, I enrolled in the adult ballet classes offered by the Good Samaritan Dance Academy.
In what diocesan level ministries and/or ministries in previous parishes have you been involved?
I’ve held several lay leadership positions over the years. I was actively involved with a suburban mission church for the Northwest Synod of the Lutheran Church, which was modeled after Holden Village, a Lutheran retreat center in a beautiful part of the Washington wilderness. I also founded a regional transitional housing project after a woman donated her home to our church. The timing aligned with my master’s degree study in organizational systems. I had completed a gap analysis on services for domestic violence victims and learned that many services are not available to women without children. The home that we inherited was not suitable for small children due to its steep stairs, so the women-only housing idea took an immediate step forward.
From your point of view, what is the greatest challenge or opportunity you see facing Good Samaritan in the next three to five years?
I love watching my garden grow. I loved watching our daughter grow. And I love seeing Good Sam grow. It’s a joyful challenge to meet the needs of anything that blossoms because needs shift and develop. At Good Sam, I liken growth to a mighty oak tree whose wide branches provide shade for travelers and happy climbing for those exploring. The deep taproot of faith found here allows all of us to stretch our limbs to the Kingdom. As we pause to celebrate our first 150 years, the opportunity that excites me the most is contemplating what we can do now to prepare for the next 150 years.
Please describe how you understand the gospel message. What is that message to you?
The promise of the gospel simply takes my breath away. The gospel message helps me walk with Jesus, to understand his radical grace and whispered shouts of love. I have a little corner of the house that overlooks the garden where I sit with the day’s gospel reading. I follow my meditation with an exegesis lesson that explains the historical and cultural context of the passage. I have found that this time to myself in the morning sets the tone for my day. I’ve been very fortunate to work in environments that have been Christian or, at the very least, do not run counter to respect and honor for one another.