We wish to welcome Rev. Laurel Neal to our church as Interim Pastor while our Pastor Nominating Committee finishes its work to find a new regular Pastor for us.
From our Newsletter, Westminster News:
Hello,
everyone. My name is Laurel Neal and I’m looking forward to
spending November-December with you at Westminster.
I’ll be commuting from Vancouver,
where I’ve lived since mid-2007. My husband, Fitz, is also a pastor
and serves on the staff at Columbia Presbyterian Church in Vancouver.
We’ve been enjoying the Pacific Northwest very much so far, and
it’s a pleasure to get to spend some time in Eugene with all of
you.
I’m originally from Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania and was raised in the Presbyterian Church. I became a
professing Christian during high school, and following Christ has
been important to me ever since. I attended college at Trinity
University in San Antonio, Texas, worked for several years in Utah,
and returned to Texas to study linguistics at the University of
Texas.
It was in Austin that I met and married
Fitz, who already had a call to the ministry. Off we went to
Princeton Seminary, where Fitz kept asking if I wanted to go to
seminary, too. I didn’t. At least I didn’t think so.
A sense of call slowly emerged in my
own life after we’d gotten settled back in San Antonio, and I began
commuting to the Presbyterian seminary in Austin. Since then Fitz and
I have served churches in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Indiana, sometimes
working together and sometimes not. Now we feel privileged to be in
the beautiful Pacific Northwest and hope to be here for a long time.
We’re both avid readers and movie-watchers. We like to ski,
fly-fish, and dance, and I enjoy cooking and learning about wine.
My schedule for the next couple of
months looks like this: I’ll normally drive down to Eugene on
Saturday afternoon and stay until sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Naturally things will play out differently than this during Christmas
week and if any emergencies arise. I’ve been asked to focus mainly
on preaching and pastoral care while I’m with you, and I hope
you’ll call upon me for any needs you may have. Overall it’s my
intention to support your customary life together however I can
during this brief “in-between time” – and to join you in
anticipating, and praying for, the marvelous completion of the PNC’s
search for your next installed pastor.
Blessings,
Laurel
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2008 November Newsletter