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Q: What aspects of the community of Good Shepherd are most appealing or meaningful to you?
A: The aspects of Good Shepherd that are meaningful to me are:
- The warmth, welcome and love I feel from and for our Rector. Imogen has captured my mind and my heart and is constantly teaching me through her words and actions about the love of Christ.
- The worship service with inspiring sermons and music. I especially love the inclusion of the children.
- The warmth and welcome that I feel from our parishioners with many invitations for me to join various ministries and participate in many activities. Sweetest of all may be the card from Betty Dietz with a message of welcome and her devotion to the church.
- The generous involvement of the clergy and parishioners in the community, including the contribution of backpacks and an amazing bounty of Christmas presents for children of Episcopal Migrant workers, the One Wake petition for more affordable housing, 2nd Chance Pet Adoption and many more. It was inspiring to see the commitment to reach the goal of The Vision.
Q: What ministries, service projects, or other volunteer work have you performed while at Good Shepherd?
A: I am currently covering the Front Desk on Thursday morning from 9-1. I get to work with David Baggett, and stuff the bulletins with the announcements and get them ready to be distributed. Both are very special to me. I serve as lector about once a month. And perhaps my claim to “fame” is that I played Elizabeth in our most recent Christmas Pageant. What fun that was!
Q: What ministries, organizations or other functions of Good Shepherd do you think our community needs to focus more attention on in the coming months or years?
A:
- Good Shepherd, like most churches, must always be focused on Growth and Retention of membership. I love the way Imogen consistently welcomes visitors and shares how they may interact with us. The Newcomer class has been very engaging and has fostered engagement with Justin and the other new members. I want to learn more about this process and its many facets. I learned from my work that recruitment and retention must be intentional, consistent and hardwired into all of our processes.
- Pastoral Care is an important core competency of a successful church. Good Shepherd has a well-developed approach to Pastoral care for its parishioners. And Rev Imogen’s Culture of Caring defines how we need to be with each other in times of need. We need to ensure that we are always assessing the needs of our parishioners aware to make certain that we are providing the right service at the right time in the right spirit.
- Our location adds a challenging aspect of our work, that of the homeless people who are in constant serve to get their basic needs met. We are called to find ways to help them.
Q: Fun Fact: What is your favorite hymn?
A: Abide With Me is my favorite.
Q: Anything else you’d like to share?
I have been a member for less than a year. I realize that may be an obstacle for some. To follow are brief descriptions of my work history and my church experiences.
I retired in 2016 with more than 40 years of service to hospitals, their patients and staff. The focus of my work was organizational development, performance improvement and staff recruitment and retention. I learned that I am happiest and most productive when I am working as a part of a team responsible for achieving the goals of an organization.
I received a Diploma from Mercy Hospital School of Nursing and worked as a staff nurse in hospitals. I earned my BS in Nursing from UNC-Charlotte and then an MBA from the University of South Carolina. I rose through the ranks in hospitals to become Chief Operating Officer at Rex Healthcare and then a national consultant and internal consultant to hospital leaderships.
I have lived in several places during my career and since my confirmation as an Episcopalian in 1991, I have been a member in some very interesting churches. I was confirmed in the Cathedral Church of St Peter in St Petersburg, Fla. The church developed Florida Resurrection House, a residential program for homeless families with children. The goal of RH was to provide safe shelter and support while the parents earned. GED or other education so that they could be gainfully employed and break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. I served on their Board in its early stages.
When working in Denver, CO, I was a member of Saint John’s Cathedral. There I was part of a team that provided a contemplative service at 5 pm on Sunday. It is called The Wilderness. Part of the structure was the use of Prayer Stations where people could visit and pray. I loved creating those every Sunday afternoon in that massive cathedral. A unique practice of prayer as I built them.
I returned to Raleigh in 2017 and became a member of Christ Church. While a member, I became a Stephen Minister and worked in that role for 4 years. I completed the Sacred Ground course and the facilitated a group through the curriculum. And I participated in a Contemplative Prayer group for 4 years led by Winston Charles. During that time I also completed the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course taught by the Duke University School of Medicine. And I taught Mindfulness for OLLI, a program for senior learners, at NCSTATE for 6 years.
My spiritual life has deepened, over time especially from the work with The Wilderness and the contemplative practice I have developed. It is my hope that my work and church experience can contribute to the success of the Vestry of Church of the Good Shepherd. It would be a great honor to serve in that capacity. Thank you for your consideration.
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