Silverdale Lutheran Church Staff

When I came to Silverdale Lutheran Church in 2020 and if you had told me I would find a calling to ministry and seminary in 10 or so years, I wouldn't have believed you!  But, as a cradle Lutheran I really HEARD the Word for the first time here at SLC, and realized the Word had been working in me from the time of my infant baptism.  Our pastors are great at giving us the Gospel news that Jesus has given us all we will ever need to be free from the oppression of having to be "good enough."  In this freedom, we are now free to serve our community and world and this is the call that grabbed me.  I love helping to provide pastoral care to the sick and to those who can't easily make it into the church building, and also to anyone who just needs a soft shoulder and someone to listen.

I am working toward ordination as a deacon, a Minister of Word and Service in the ELCA.  As the title indicates, deacons are rooted in the Word and we take its message out to the world, in preaching and teaching yes, but also with our hands and our feet, bridging the gap between the Church and the world.  My personal plan for ministry is to build on what I've been doing here at SLC - providing pastoral care, helping out with preaching and teaching, but also using what I'm learning in seminary by paying more attention to our congregation's mission of "Loving Kitsap."  That means looking to Bremerton and Silverdale and the surrounding areas for unmet needs and helping to figure how our worshiping community can engage with them.  For example, I have a degree in Spanish from the University of Utah, and I've been discerning how I might be able to best use my fluency to serve.