HENDERSONVILLE, TN — At a special congregational meeting held on Sunday, September 19th, the St. Timothy Lutheran Church congregation voted to call Reverend Jennifer S. Michael to be their new pastor. St. Timothy, located at 650 E. Main Street in Hendersonville, Tennessee, will welcome Pastor Michael on Sunday, November 7, 2021, at the 10:30 am worship service.
Council President Dorothy Jones says, “We look forward to welcoming Pastor Jennifer to St. Timothy in a few weeks, and we are excited to see where God is leading us on this new journey.”
Pastor Michael, a native of Pensacola, Florida, completed her undergraduate degree in Communications at Kaplan University, and her Master of Divinity at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. She comes to St. Timothy from Battle Creek, Michigan, where she has served as pastor to St. Peter Lutheran Church since 2017. Prior to that, she served in lay leadership roles on both church council and synodical boards, and as President of the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (WELCA) for three years.
Pastor Jennifer says, “I am excited to be a part of the work St. Timothy is doing both within the church and the Hendersonville community. I believe that God has called me to this congregation to as a leader in proclamation, testimony, and daily living, and am committed to living out that call in every feasible way so that it might illuminate the power of the Gospel for others.”
In addition to serving as a pastor, Reverend Michael looks forward to taking advantage of the many live performance opportunities for music and theater in the Middle Tennessee area and introducing her 2-year-old pug Raisin to her new congregation. Pastor Michael will be formally installed as pastor at St. Timothy by representatives from the Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) including Pastor Matt Steinhauer, Assistant to the Bishop and Director of Advocacy for the Southeastern Synod, on Saturday, November 20th at 3 pm.
St. Timothy Lutheran Church is a community claimed in baptism, gathered in worship, and sent in service for the sake of the world. We are called to be a diverse Christian community, actively preparing all to do God’s work. This is our mission and vision. We celebrate and embrace as a gift, the diversity of our neighborhood and the world. We affirm that all people are created in the image of God; and, as beloved children of God, all are worthy of God’s love and grace. We welcome all people, regardless of faith history, legal status, economic status, addiction recovery, personal history, marital status, or education. We welcome all people regardless of age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical or mental abilities. We recognize that there are differences among us and believe that, even though we may not think alike, we are one in Christ and worthy of respect, dignity, and compassion. We therefore welcome all people into the life and ministries of St. Timothy Lutheran Church as we journey toward reconciliation in Christ. For more information, please visit www.sttimothyhendersonville.org.