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<\/p>\nI believe strongly that my Christian faith was intended to be lived out in community with others. To that end, I am an active member of Highland Church of Christ. I have been regularly involved in a weekly Sunday morning women\u2019s Bible study since spring 2017, and facilitate our class discussions periodically on a rotational basis. It has been such a blessing to be a part of this multi-generational women’s class!<\/p>\n
In fall 2017, upon learning about Highlight’s Educational Initiative to encourage and support adults seeking to obtain their GEDs, I felt called to serve as a mentor for this program. I was paired with a young woman who was a few years younger than myself; she was juggling being a full-time, single mom of a number of young children and desiring to further her educational and career goals. From fall 2017 through spring 2018, we met almost weekly to discuss her progress and goals as she studied for her GED exams. Throughout our meetings together, I was continually inspired by her tenacity and determination to continue with her studies in spite of the many obstacles she faced.<\/p>\n
Additionally, I have been very blessed to be able to utilize my administrative and managerial gifts to serve the congregation. In this regard, I have consulted the Executive Minister, concerning the church\u2019s outreach efforts related to homelessness and other collaborative initiatives within the church, as needed. In summer 2018, I served as a Task Force member for a redesign of the church\u2019s small group program.<\/p>\n
In Fall 2018, I was approached by the Highland chair of elders, Dr. Bill Fowler, regarding serving in the role of co-chair for the upcoming preacher search process. I was quite taken aback to be approached and I believe the first word out of my mouth was \u201cwow.\u201d After taking some time to pray and think about this significant ask, I humbly accepted this role. I was excited about the opportunity to utilize my organizational skill sets in order to serve the church in this way. I also viewed this as a practical and applied extension of my research passions in that this task involved understanding and appreciating many different perspectives that existed in the church as it relates to selecting a new preaching minister and trying to move forward in a collaborative manner. While I invested a significant amount of time and energy into this commitment, and experienced some challenges along the way, it was such a rewarding experience to work alongside the Godly women and men who made up this team. This was truly a collaborative and enriching experience!<\/p>\n
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Below is a thank you note I received from a Highland elder after the conclusion of the preacher search process:<\/p>\n
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Below is a thank you note from my co-chair on the preacher search team, Charles Smith. Charles comes from a ministry background and is, first and foremost, a relational-oriented person. My background is business-focused and I tend to be more task-oriented when it comes to organizing and executing projects. With our different backgrounds and styles, I think we complemented one another quite well.<\/p>\n
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