Dear Friends,

Greetings! I am excited and honored to begin ministry with you all of First Congregational!

I am here to travel with you through this transitional time.

I don’t see myself as an interim, merely filling the void between one pastor and the next. Nor do I come with an agenda, expecting you to do certain tasks or becoming what I think you should be.

Instead my purpose is to work with you to keep the ministry of FCC vibrant and moving forward. This begins by discovering what God is already doing with you and where God may be leading. I intend to celebrate all you have been and are, lift up your giftedness in ministry, and be an encourager and cheerleader for what we can do together.

My theme song for the first couple of months is: ♫ Getting to know you, getting to know all about you ♫. I want to meet with as many of you as I can.

I’ll be attending every group and meeting possible, but I would love to visit over coffee or a meal, in your homes or at the office, as individuals, couples, or groups. Invitations are welcome! I also hope we will set up small group gatherings for conversations, as well.

Expect a lot of questions from me, especially ones that ask “why”. When I ask, it is never meant as a criticism, simply to understand why you do what you do.

To help you get to know me, here is a little bit about me.

I have been a pastor for 20 years, serving five churches of varied sizes and settings. I’m Presbyterian, but am used to being outside those “bounds” from serving a union Presbyterian/Methodist church. (I’m looking forward to learning more about the UCC way of doing things and am taking an online course to educate myself.)

Earlier in my ministry I felt a call to interim work and had some training in it, but the timing wasn’t right. Following a new kind of transitional ministry training in 2016, I was led to my first position at the First Presbyterian Union Church in Owego.

This past summer, God strongly confirmed that this is the ministry I’m called to, so I feel blessed that we were brought together here at FCC!

I am single, no kids, but with two fur-babies: my cats, Carter and Callie. I grew up in northeastern PA and lived in various parts of that state, before moving to NY in 2001. I’m a second career pastor who was an industrial engineer, computer manager, business manager, and computer programmer in my previous life.

(Some other time I’ll tell you how God moved me from all of that to pastoral ministry.)

Because of that, I balance a business mind with a pastoral heart. I love music, reading, playing games on my devices, and connecting with friends and family through social media and a variety of other means.

My mom, who lives in the area, wants you to know that I was baptized in the Congregational Church in Carversville, PA, which was also the church of her childhood.

Hopefully, I’ve whetted your appetite to get to know me better, as much as I want to get to know you. May God richly bless our mission and ministry together in the coming time!

Grace and Peace, Lisa

The featured artist for the February 10th Jazz Vespers will be The Southern Tier Brass Quintet. This group of professional musicians finds beautiful arrangements for brass instruments, and play with a flair and a sense of humor that is wonderful to hear. Please join us at 5:00 PM in the sanctuary on the 10th for an early Valentine’s Day delight.

Other FCC News and Events

You’ll find other news about the recent Congregational Meeting, the Spiritual Book Club, the Faith Works Fellowship gatherings, and a thank you from our recently retired pastor, the Rev. Dr. Arthur Suggs and Tracy Suggs (plus a look from the January 13th celebration of Rev. Suggs’ ministry) in the full edition of The Forecaster – download it here: