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Jay Scott
I was raised in the United Methodist Church as part of a congregation that merged with two others around 14 years ago. My mother was the choir director and organist in the original church, then the merged church, so I was always in the choir. I married my wife in 1984. Her father was a Lutheran minister and we went every other Sunday between our two churches for over 20 years. Our two daughters, Elizabeth and Sarah, were baptized/confirmed Lutheran. Sarah has given us four beautiful, smart, talented, and athletic granddaughters who show cattle at the fair, take dance classes, and play sports.
I grew up on the farm, and I'm part of a family grain farm operation just northwest of Bucyrus. My off-farm career includes eight years in radio and TV news/sports, 13 years in management and disaster relief with the American Red Cross, and a number of years in marketing/public relations work in the health care field. I've also written for multiple newspapers. My Red Cross work took me all across the country and Puerto Rico to be a public spokesman for disaster relief operations, including hurricanes, earthquakes and floods, and even a forest fire in Alaska. My last assignment was in New York City after the World Trade Center attacks where I led a staff of public relations volunteers to get the word out to local residents about Red Cross services.
I had begun working in radio part time while still in high school, and began working full time the day after graduation so, as you can tell, I'm very much self-made. I like to say I graduated magna cum lucky from the University of Hard Knocks. When the discussions about merger involving my home church began, I took an active role in the meetings since I was laid off at the time. That's when I had several spiritual experiences that I perceived to be God calling me into ministry. I pastored a United Methodist church for a little over two years, then was given the opportunity in September of 2014 to be "permanent supply" at Emanuel UCC, and they formally called me in May of 2015.
In addition to the church and the farm, I have been a volunteer firefighter for 41 years, I do the scorebook for Wynford boys basketball, I help my daughter coach elementary girls basketball, and I am the treasurer of the Grace Harris-Nichols Foundation. The foundation is in memory of my cousin who died of covid the day before her wedding day. I am the vice-moderator of the Association Cabinet, and I am leading the Association Minister Search Committee.
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