My Biography

        I still remember being called down to my High School Counselor’s Office my Junior year. We’d taken vocational aptitude tests to discover where our strongest interests lie. That was to be the avenue they’d encourage.

"You’re going to have a problem," my counselor told me. "You rate very high in seven categories." I just about spelled the whole alphabet: from artistic to mechanical to scientific.

A college History major with a strong focus on both Religious Studies and Art History, I decided to eventually enter the ordained ministry. As fate would have it, I met my husband in seminary and we’ve since had two lovely daughters, Mary and Kristina. Thank goodness I’ve had so many interests. My background has come in handy when helping with school projects!

I bought my first Writer’s Market in 1990, the year my second daughter was born. What was I thinking? I did take that leap of faith in 1994 and sent out my first manuscript to a real live paying market. When it was accepted, I sent out another, and then another. Writing is like eating chocolate. It not only raises endorphins, but it’s hard to stop once you get going. However, there is one major difference between writing and chocolate: you don’t consume writing, it consumes you. That means no calories! Not a bad deal.

While serving in ministry, I have been a frequent contributor to a variety of publications, including: The Morning Call newspaper (Quakertown PA bureau), Parents Express (Philadelphia), Lehigh Valley Magazine, Southwestern Pennsylvania Scene Magazine, The Word in Season, and Christ in Our Home.

One of my essays found a home on the pages of Baby Talk magazine and later was included in Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother’s Soul. See my writing resume for the list of my articles. They are as varied as my interests.

Education

The Basics of Transitional Ministry through the Interim Ministry Network, Baltimore

Conflict Dynamics through the Alban Institute

Master of Divinity, The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, PA

Bachelor of Arts, concentration in History, Goucher College, Towson, MD

M.O.M. degree - Currently serving two teens. No graduation from this school, just years of continued education, or so my Mom tells me.

Employment

Intentional Interim Pastor in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Served as Interim Pastor at ELCA congregations in Pennsylvania:

     St. Lukes, Ferndale
     Christ, Trumbauersville
     Jerusalem, Sellersville
     Luther Chapel, Coral
     Pleasant Union, Rural Valley

Part-time Chaplain, Lutheran Community at Telford

Co-pastor of the Lutheran Campus Ministry at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP)

Co-pastor, Manor Lutheran Parish, Adamstown, MD.

Ordained 1983 into the Lutheran Church of America

Archivist at the Maryland Hall of Records after college graduation, Annapolis, MD

Professional Memberships

American Society of Training and Development

Association of Conflict Resolution

Association of Psychological Type

Delaware Valley Association of Psychological Type

Pennwriters

The Alban Institute

Society for the Advancement of Continuing Education in Ministry