Traveling Thoughts

Email: "Hi Kate, hope you are doing well! We are starting up our second season of Upward Soccer and we have lots of children already registered. We are looking for more coaches and one of the teens said she would be an assistant coach if she could coach with you. What do you say? Will you be a soccer coach this year?" A soccer coach, are you kidding me? I only played soccer one day in my life during a pick up game at a summer camp. My soccer career promptly ended 15 minutes after it began when a ball got kicked into my stomach, knocking the wind out of me as I fell to the ground. How am I supposed to coach a game I’ve never played? Also, I’m just starting to get used to working with children with the new position of Pastor of Children and Youth, my niche is working with teenagers! It was the beginning of 2016 and I was given the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone in serving. Believing the best leaders are servant leaders that led by example and understan...

My brother and I are 15 months apart, practically Irish twins, and you couldn’t get more Irish with names like "Katie and Patrick" and my brother being born on St. Patrick’s Day. While we grew up in the same household and share the same parents, there are more ways that we are different than we are alike. While we share having curly hair, the same nose, and blue eyes - even standing next to each other people wouldn’t believe we were related let alone siblings. When it comes to disposition, we were on opposite ends of the spectrum as children. Being the older sibling, teachers having my brother the next year were often shocked to find out that we were related. Growing up we both shared a love of climbing any and all things but mostly trees! While we both started out fearless in conquering the scaling of branches and seeing how high we could get, our reaction to getting down was much different. Sure, it was all fun and games when we were climbing and looking out into t...

            Jesus was a name I heard the adults talking and whispering about around town. People couldn’t stop talking about the healing and teaching that Jesus was doing around our community. So, I was excited when my mom told me we were going to follow and see Jesus for ourselves. Packing my things quickly for this adventure, we joined the multitudes to search for this man called Jesus.              Once we found him on this mountain, I took advantage of my size as I weaved in and out of the crowd towards the front so I could hear Jesus’ words for myself. He was teaching his close friends but what I overheard was amazing. I had never heard anything like it: “Blessed are the poor in spirit…those who mourn…the meek…those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…the merciful…the pure in heart…the peacemakers.” He promised the Kingdom of Heaven, comfort, being filled, receiving mercy, an...

This post was originally featured on the Colocate Ministry Consulting blog. When I was in high school and asked what I was planning to do “when I grow up” my response would always be, “I’m going to change the world!” This might seem like a starry eyed, even naïve response to this question, but my confidence was the product of the youth leaders who poured into me starting at age 14. Not only did they encourage me to be an agent of change while still in high school, but they offered the space, resources, and coaching in order to make ideas a reality. This drive to “change the world” came from my very first mission trip when my eyes were open to a loving, liberating Jesus that calls us to be partners of bringing the Kingdom of the God here to earth. My 14-year-old eyes were open to this new idea and way of life because of a 10-year-old girl at the  Tijuana Christian Mission . During that week, I witnessed this young girl care for the younger children at the orphanage – reading ...

This month, I am celebrating ten years of serving in the local church. Ten years ago, I was so excited about the opportunity I was given to be working with students! That call only continued to grow focusing in the areas of discipleship, service with justice and compassion, and leadership.  However, my focus has always been divided. While serving at  Christ United Methodist Church  for 7 years, I was able to double as a full time undergraduate and graduate student. While at  Faith Community UMC , I explored a calling to serving as a senior pastor . While at Peace UMC, the focus was wide serving alongside people working with birth through 12 th  grade.  Peace United Methodist Church will forever be part of my story. There have been some amazing things that have happened in the life of the church and its ministries. So much has happened in the past two years, yet it seems like the time has gone so quickly. Another part of my story that definit...

The Dayton Daily News reported that five area Friendly’s, the last of a restaurant chain in Dayton, closed without warning on Monday.  While most might scroll past this story, my heart sank a little. You see, I have a long history with this restaurant. Which might sound a little (or a lot) silly, but before you judge – let me explain. Growing up, I regularly went to Mass with my grandparents. While my grandmother was a one of the best cooks I know, we would sometimes be treated to a meal or ice cream at Friendly’s. Don’t get me wrong; even at a young age I knew it was a bribe.   I didn’t realize the family history behind this bribe until I was a little older when my aunt visiting from California took me out to lunch. Where did I want to go? Friendly’s of course, you can get lunch AND ice cream. The lunch conversation swirled to many topics but one of them stood out. It was there that my aunt told me how my grandparents used the same “trick” on her gr...