Interviewing area women serving the community in local dominations.
Rabbi Holly Cohn
Temple B’rith Shalom
Hometown: Dallas
Parents’ Religion: Jewish
Education: bachelor’s in Advertising, UT Austin; Rabbinic Ordination, Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion; master’s in Jewish Communal Service, Nonprofit Management, Gratz, Philadelphia
Other communities served: St. Louis; Jacksonville, Fla,; Greenville, S.C.; Atlanta; Odessa, Texas; Albany, Ga.; Dallas
Years in Prescott: half-year | Years in clergy: 18
First year women were ordained in your religion: only Regina Jonas, 1935 (d. Auschwitz, 1944) until Sally Priesand, 1972
What event, revelation, etc., most inspired you to become a rabbi?
Since touring Israel with the National Federation of Temple Youth (1987), I have wanted to be a rabbi. There I lived Jewish history, hiked, swam in seas and rivers, worked on a kibbutz, took in the food and culture, explored archeological sites and modern cities, celebrated Shabbat, and cultivated my Judaism.
Why did you choose your religion, and how is it unique?
Being born Jewish, I know Judaism is a religion, way of life, culture, peoplehood, and set of beliefs, NOT a race. Jews are diverse in appearance, living everywhere. Hitler incorrectly classified Jews as a “subhuman race” to exterminate us. The foundation for Christianity and Islam is Judaism. The Torah teaches, “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” (Deut. 6:4) One God is the fundamental principle of Judaism. Jesus is neither God nor prophet, but a teacher.
Your job is so diverse, what is your favorite thing about it – and the hardest?
Favorite: learning through teaching: delivering a sermon, telling a story, singing with preschoolers, training Torah readers, guiding a conversion candidate, discussing text, counseling the ill or bereaved. Hardest: complaints without solutions, triangulation, and not going to the source. Perception is reality; I appreciate open, respectful communication.
Rev. Terry Cummings
Granite Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Birthplace:
Bridgnorth, England
Parents’ religion: atheists
Education: London School of Economics law degree 1979; master’s of divinity from Union Theological Seminary NYC 2016
Other communities served: Lincoln, Mass. and Paramus, N.J.
Years in Prescott: less than one | Years in clergy: first parish ministry
First year women were ordained in your religion: 1863 in Universalist Church when Olympia Brown was first female minister whose ordination was recognized by a denomination; merged with Unitarians in 1961.
What event, revelation, etc., most inspired you to become a minister?
The recognition that there is so much injustice in this country that especially affects minorities and the LGBT community. I was a privileged white lawyer who realized I could do more good in the ministry because social justice is a spiritual endeavor.
Why did you choose your religion, and how is it unique?
UU focuses on deeds not creeds, on this world instead of the next. It’s a spiritual home, not a religious home. We are the most open denomination in the world. We’re Christian based but embrace everyone including humanists, atheists, agnostics, pagans, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, etc. We focus on principles such as affirming the worth and dignity of all, and the web of life that connects us all. This is the only religion that allows me to think for myself. This is the place to follow a journey that suits you.
Your job is so diverse, what is your favorite thing about it – and the hardest?
My job is so fun compared to my previous job as a corporate trial attorney in NYC. I love to lead worship and do pastoral care in homes and hospitals. I don’t enjoy fundraising.
Rev. Misty Howick
Prescott United Methodist Church
Hometown: Tucson
Parents’ religion:
United Methodist
Education: bachelor’s in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Master of Divinity
Other communities served: Sea Bright, N.J.
Years in Prescott: 4 | Years in clergy: Ordained in 2018, in ministry 6 years
First year women were ordained in your religion: 1956
What event, revelation, etc., most inspired you to become a pastor?
Even though it was a lifetime of events that led me to ministry, the turning point for me occurred during an outdoor school in California. I had just finished a difficult semester student-teaching high school biology when I went to teach outdoor education for Christian schools. I taught hands-on science lessons, led Bible studies, and led worship. I learned I could share my love for the outdoors and my love for God with others at camp. Knowing that I could do both shifted my career focus to ministry.
Why did you choose your religion, and how is it unique?
I chose my religion because it was what I had grown up knowing. In college when I was exploring a lot of faith questions, my pastor said the UMC was a big umbrella with room for a spectrum of different theologies. I still believe that today. However, the UMC is not the only faith tradition I fit into. That is why I believe interfaith work is so important, because most of the time we find we have more in common than not.
Your job is so diverse, what is your favorite thing about it – and the hardest?
My best times are watching people make positive life changes and seeing God in their lives. The hardest are when a person’s needs fall outside the resources we have available.
Rev. Denise Muller
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
Hometown: Phoenix
Parents’ religion: Baptist (mother), Presbyterian (father)
Education: bachelor’s in Anthropology, Arizona State University; master’s in Public Health, Loma Linda University; master’s in Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary; diploma in Anglican Studies, Seminary of the Southwest
Other Communities Served: Phoenix and Austin
Years in Prescott: 1
Years as clergy: 1
First year women ordained in your religion: 1974
What event most inspired you to become a priest?
There was a convergence of events. I was a director at a national prison ministry organization, in a spiritual direction program, and two relatives unexpectedly died. The church I was in at the time could not support me in my grief. I found solace in the Episcopal community and liturgy. I began discerning a call to the priesthood, a call affirmed by friends and colleagues.
Why did you choose your religion, and how is it unique?
I am moved by encountering the Holy in the liturgy, and find resonance with the tradition’s embrace of a broad range of theologies and spiritualities woven together within common patterns of prayer and worship. The Episcopal Church is grounded in scripture, tradition, and reason, while also recognizing the ongoing revelation of God. It is an inclusive faith tradition where all people are welcome. In our baptismal covenant, we vow to seek and serve Christ in all people; this is foundational to my identity.
Your job is so diverse, what is your favorite thing about it – and the hardest?
I experience the priesthood as a vocation, not a job. It is challenging maintaining balance in life as a priest. I love companioning people through life’s joys and sorrows, planning and leading liturgy, as well as witnessing and drawing people’s attention to the movement of the Spirit within and among them.
Rev. Kathleen Sibley
Center for Spiritual Living Prescott
Hometown: I was raised in the military, so the United States is my hometown.
Parents’ religion: We were a very Catholic family.
Education: master’s in Counseling and master’s in Ministry, Center for Spiritual Living School of Leadership.
Other communities served: San Diego
Years in Prescott: 8
Years in clergy: 9
First year women were ordained in your religion: Ever since the Centers were founded in the 1920s.
What event, revelation, etc., most inspired you to become a minister?
Both of my mother’s brothers are priests, so clergy runs in the family. There was no single moment of clarity that caused me to become a minister – it felt very obvious and natural as soon as I found out it was an option for me.
Why did you choose your religion, and how is it unique?
What I love about our philosophy is that it embraces all faiths and that it’s so practical. We teach how to be happy and successful in our lives, and how to make the world a better place drawing from many faith traditions. Our Global Vision includes “a world that works for everyone.” Within that vision, I believe my job is to teach and inspire through my example.
Your job is so diverse, what is your favorite thing about it – and the hardest?
My favorite part also is the hardest: to let my life as a whole be my ministry. My mistakes and humanity are as useful on this path (and as likely to be talked about) as my education or spiritual practice. I love that we teach the essential goodness of all people and that God (by whatever name) is present everywhere, so we can’t really be separate from It.