Just out., January 03, 2003, Page 11, Image 11

I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
January 3. 2003 ' J u st M tj 1 j
i'uuuw 'i'ittinew s
ftcr almost a years search, M etro­
politan Community C hurch of
Portland will welcome a candi­
date for its senior pastor position,
left empty when the Rev. Roy
Cole resigned to further his education.
The Rev. G lenna Shepherd, interim pastor
at M CC Tampa in Florida, will he in town for a
week of activities from Jan. 7 to 12, after which
a vote will he taken. She is the pastoral search
com m ittee’s choice out of three final candidates.
Shepherd was bom in 1951 and grew up in
Knoxville, Tenn., which she describes as “an
Appalachian mountain city, a diverse university
city and home of the Tennessee Valley A uthori­
ty,” which brought in people from all over the
world. The three influences, she says, resulted in
her being raised “with Kith local folk culture and
the concerts, theater and athletics of a large uni­
versity.” She credits her family with giving her “a
high regard for the values of community, hospi­
tality and friendship as well as implanting a belief
that 1 could he and do anything that 1 wanted.”
In 1972 she received a bachelors degree in
music theory from University of Tennessee. In
1978 she graduated with a masters degree in con­
ducting, which has benefited her well in the musi­
cal groups she has led in and out of various MCCs.
As a youth she attended a progressive Baptist
church and became a musician at Presbyterian,
Episcopal, Lutheran and U nited M ethodist con­
gregations. Before her involvement with M CC,
she served as an associate pastor in the U nited
M ethodist Church.
Shepherd came out in 1989 “with little
internal struggle hut quite a hit of external
drama. T h e M ethodist C hurch was not
thrilled— nor was my family.”
She adds, “M CCs ‘outness’ attracted me imme­
G ood S hepherd
Metropolitan Community Church of Portland
considers pastoral candidate
by Patricia L. M acA odha
diately.” She sees the denomination as “a prophet
in the contemporary church” and considers diver­
sity its greatest gift and challenge. “That call to be
a diverse people— theologically, in how we live, in
regard to gender, race, class—and to he open to
other ways attracted and still attracts me to MCC.”
Drawn to the ministry, Shepherd returned to
academic life in 1989, earning a master’s degree
in preaching and theology from Emory Univer­
sity while serving as artistic director of Atlanta
Feminist W omen’s Chorus. She now is pursing a
doctorate in congregational development at
Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif.
Shepherd was ordained in 1992 at Christ
Covenant M CC in Decatur, Ga., where she was
the founding pastor. She served as interim pastor
of All G(xl’s Children M CC in Minneapolis/St.
Paul from October 2000 to May 2001 and was on
staff at Cathedral of Hope M CC in Dallas as min­
ister of worship and music from 2001 to 2002.
Outside the church she has ministered to women
coming out of prison and homeless people.
Shepherd looks forward to pastoral work in
Portland, which will he significantly different
from Christ Covenant, her longest pastorate.
Portland, she says, has a long and rich history
with a legacy and “a solid ground from which to
grow,” whereas at Christ Covenant, “we devel­
oped our own culture, established new traditions
and defined ourselves as we developed.”
Asked what attracted her to M CC Portland,
(Afever in our fifetime
fa s E tern ity fa c í
sued a (Ring to it ...
James Giardino
PA BA President
PO RTLAN D AREA
BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
Shepherd m entions the size and
involvement of the congregation; pro­
grams such as Esther’s Pantry, which
provides food and personal care items
to low-income people with AIDS; the
urban nature of the church; and “com­
mitment of the congregation to he a
vital, spiritual presence in the commu­
nity.” She looks forward to experienc­
ing the Pacific Northwest culture,
anticipating the differences and simi­
larities of MCCs everywhere.
After a welcome greeting 10:45 a.m.
Jan. 7 at Portland International Airport,
Shepherd will begin an extensive circuit
of meetings with groups and individuals
inside MCC Portland and throughout
the metropolitan area. She also will he
feted at a welcoming reception 8 p.m.
Jan. 10 at Peace House, 2116 N.E. 18th
The Rev. Glenna Shepherd comes to the Rose City
Ave., and a spaghetti feed 6 p.m. Jan. 11
from Tampa, Fla.
at the church, 2400 N.E. Broadway.
Chuck Harvey, chairman of M CC Portland’s uled for 7 p.m. Jan. 8, and she will preach Jan. 12
pastoral search committee, articulated the con­ at both the 9 and 11 a.m. services, followed by a
gregation’s enthusiasm about Shepherd’s brief question-and-answer forum and a congrega­
upcoming visit. “We were very impressed with
tional meeting. If the vote that concludes this
her worship, music and administration creden­ meeting meets the 85 percent requirement, she
tials. The variety of churches she has been asso­
will he M CC Portland’s next senior pastor. j n
ciated with and the growth they experienced
also spoke well of her gifted leadership."
P atricia L. M a c A odha is a Portland free-lance
“Rev. Shepherd Explains Everything" is sched­ writer. E-mail her at patmac31@ juno.com .
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