Warm Welcome for Rev. Kelli Whitman, Interim Minister

We are pleased to welcome Rev. Kelli Whitman as our interim minister.  She began her work with us on January 16.  She’ll be serving alongside Rev. Gard through March.
 
Kelli is a life-long member of the United Church of Christ.  She grew up in central Pennsylvania and graduated from Susquehanna University with a B.A. in Communications.  After college, she moved to St. Louis Missouri to attend Eden Theological Seminary.  She moved to Maine in 2010 and has been serving churches in the Cumberland Association ever since. 
 
 In her pastoral profile, Kelli describes her approach to interim ministry this way:
 
I like to think of interim ministry as a “trapeze moment”—we’ve let go of one settled reality, and we’re waiting to grasp the next. As an interim minister, I hope to help a congregation make the most of that “in the air” time. This usually involves asking lots of questions. What do we want to celebrate about our history to this point? What do we need to let go of in order to embrace what is next? What strengths exist in our congregation right now? Who do we believe God is calling us to serve right now? Most of us do not enjoy change, but if we can embrace the possibilities of transition, we can emerge with a renewed sense of mission and purpose, ready to embrace what God is calling us to do in the next chapter of our lives together.
 
Kelli lives in Saco with her husband Bryan and daughter Abigail and her cat, Linty, who has been a constant companion during these many months of working from home.  In her free time, Kelli enjoys baking (especially attempting new cupcake recipes), working on a variety of arts and crafts, and listening to pop-culture podcasts.