Rev. Susan Meeter. (Courtesy photo)

The Rev. Susan Meeter is looking forward to spending this summer with Community Congregational Church in Benicia, and telling biblical stories about King David and his ancient empire.

“I know that these stories, preserved for thousands of years, will still speak to us today,” she said.

Meeter is also creating  “movie pairings” with themes similar to the stories to watch at home, “so that by Sunday morning we’ll all be active participants in making connections,” she said.

Meeter lived in the Midwest, primarily in Minnesota and Wisconsin, until moving to Berkeley to attend the Pacific School of Religion. While in seminary she interned as chaplain and continued as part-time staff at the Berkeley Emergency Food & Housing Project, working primarily with women.  From 2001 to 2014 she served Mira Vista United Church of Christ as pastor and teacher.

Prior to her ordination, Meeter worked as a licensed psychologist in Minnesota, learning and teaching systems theory and personal/organizational development.  As a young adult she worked as an aide in hospitals and nursing homes, which taught her compassion, generosity, and hands-on caring skills. Creativity with her hands, laughing with friends, process painting and anything having to do with water– yes, even water balloons– are ongoing sources of joy.

Since retiring from full-time church ministry, Meeter leads a support group for hospice staff at a medical facility and serves as a Campus Pastor at Pacific School of Religion.  Meeter lives in Richmond with her wife, Barbara Cook and their orange tabby, Lucy.  Her two adult children also live in the Bay Area.

Meeter will be providing pastoral care for Community Congregational Church while the full-time minister, Rev. Renie Stamm-Kirk, travels across the United States on a three-month sabbatical.  She will be visiting as many as 20 United Church of Christ Churches that have similar demographics to CCC, i.e., they have about the same number of members, same amount of money. These churches meet a criteria of growth in the last five years. Her goal is to learn best practices, find out what did not work and what did, and worship and fellowship with these churches, so she can bring new ideas and energy back to Community Congregational Church and Benicia. Her plans are to meet with lay leaders and their pastors to answer such questions as “What was in their mindset as they transition for growth?” and “What does ministry look like in the 21st century?”

Sharing is caring!