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Profile of The Rev. Katie MorrisonMarch 13, 2006
Now Morrison is doing the same for young people in Naperville. In November she was named pastor for youths and their families at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Naperville. A native of Pasadena, Calif., Morrison was an artist, swimmer and overall athlete who played water polo, basketball, softball, volleyball and other competitive sports. But from the time she was a teenager, she knew she wanted to be a minister. After graduating with a degree in American studies from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, she enrolled in the San Francisco Theological Seminary, where she earned a master of divinity degree in 1999. In 2001 she became a Presbyterian minister, the first openly gay woman to be ordained in that denomination. Before her ordination, Morrison had served at a Presbyterian church in New York state, followed by a nondenominational church in her native California. She was ordained during the time she worked for More Light Presbyterians, a church-affiliated nonprofit advocacy group that worked on behalf of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues. She officially changed her affiliation to the United Church of Christ after joining the staff at First Congregational Church. Morrison and her partner, UCC minister Curran Reichert, live in Princeton, where Reichert is pastor of a church. Morrison commutes nearly two hours to Naperville. In addition to her work with youths, Morrison is a freelance graphic artist. Her hobbies include backpacking, hiking, biking and kayaking. 1. What drew you to the ministry? My home church got its first woman minister when I was in junior high, and I know that had a huge impact. Growing up, for me, church was home. My dad had grown up in that church, and my grandma was the church secretary for over 20 years. So walking on that campus was kind of like an extended family. So church was very comfortable growing up. I had lots of buddies there and had a wonderful youth group experience. And so, because the experience I had as a young person in church was so positive, it was natural for me to say that a chance to be a pastor in a church was one thing I was thinking about. 2. What is your ministerial philosophy? In our youth group, we are not passing on dogma to young people. We aren't just passing down the faith. We are not dictating church doctrine to them. We are inviting them to join us — the entire church community — in the journey of living the questions. The United Church of Christ is not a denomination of answers. It's a denomination that seeks to be together in a spiritual journey of faithful Christians living the questions. So that informs how we are as a youth group — that youth don't come and listen to me tell them who God is and what God wants for them in their lives. Rather, I want to create a place where they can explore their spirituality and explore for themselves who God is in community and explore with one another and from there learn how to discern what God might be calling them to in their lives. 3. How does God manifest himself in your life? God manifests in my life in companionship. God is constant, always accessible, and that is because of the nurturing that I had growing up in the church. Because I was brought up in a faith community that was not only talking about God but seeking to live as faithful people in relation to God and one another, that's in the core of my being. It's almost in my bone marrow. I was a sponge that absorbed that. One of the ways in which I feel so thankful to be in another opportunity to serve in a more traditional church setting is that I'm one of the few of my peers that actually had a positive church experience. I want to try to help create that for this generation that happens to be here. God is not only comfort and constant presence, God is also challenger, butt-kicker, and always calling me to care and concern for what is going on, not only in the local community but in the world. 4. Who would you like to hear preach? I just read the sermon Bono of U2 preached at the United Nations prayer breakfast a couple of months ago. Awesome. He's doing some amazing work speaking out. I would love to hear his holiness the Dalai Lama. 5. What is your favorite place to spend time? I love being in the ocean. I love bodysurfing. I haven't been able to do that here. If you kind of squint looking at Lake Michigan, it kind of looks like an ocean, but it doesn't smell like an ocean. It's not the same. Copyright © 2006 Digital Chicago & Sun-Times News Group |
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