NEW ADDITION TO THE PRESBYTERIAN PARISH:

Rev. Erin Angel

As a Parish Associate  Rev. Erin Angel will be counseling parishioners, visiting members in need, helping to develop Christian Education programs, sharing the planning and running of worship services, remaining available to cover the pulpit when Pat Handlson, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church,  is not available and helping him to minister the Presbyterian Student Association (PSA) at Tennessee Tech University.'

          Her early years

Rev. Angel grew up in a small town of Southeast, Illinois. She has a brother, Eric,  who is three years older than she is. He is a professional chef who owns and manages a restaurant in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Rev, Angel's family attended a small, rural, Cumberland Presbyterian church.  According to the description she makes about her upbringing her  parents were very strong and active church members and insisted that both children go to church as a family every Sunday.

           Her calling to the ministry

In talking about her decision to become a minister, she said:  'I began to answer my calling to be a minister when I was a sophomore at Bethel College in McKenzie, Tennessee.  I have always believed that God has a special call for everyone, and like a lot of people, what mine was, it wasn't an easy task. For awhile I skipped from major to major until settling for psychology.  It was there I found my niche.  And it was through my major that I began to realize that God was calling me to work with people,  in special with people of the church. I had what I call an inner stirring which kept calling me towards the church.'

'As I began to explore my calling, I applied for a job as a youth director at a local church and got it.  A sense of peace flooded over me during this time.  I realized that God was calling me to be a minister.  I added religion to my minor and set my sights on applying for Seminary.  After obtaining my BA in 1993, I went on to graduate from Memphis Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity.'

           Spiritual leadership

As a Spirtual leader she confessed: 'Through my work I have been able to be a part of some amazing moments in people's lives.  I am blessed to be a witness to God at work in so many  ways in the lives of so many people.  Sometimes, though, it is easier           to see God at work in the lives of ot than in my own life.  Sometimes I have to do what I tell people to do: 'stop for a moment and just realize that you are in the presence of God.'

Talking about her family she expressed: 'I am not only a minister, but a minister's wife as well and we have two children.  My husband, Jonathan Angel,  is a pastor of three churches in White County Parish: Blue Springs Presbyterian Church, Robinson Chapel Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church in Sparta.  We dated one another in college and we married after graduating.  Then  we attended the Seminary together. Our first pastorate was in Missouri where we co-pastored  two Presbyterian Churches.  I am blessed to have two children, Emma (8) and Jacob (3).  Sunday mornings are busy for the Angels household since Jonathan has worship services at nine, ten, and eleven fifteen in the morning and I have worship service in Cookeville at eleven.  Emma once asked, when she was younger, why we never went to church as a family.  Now she realizes she has four church families to be part of, which means of course, four fellowship dinners a month to enjoy.'

            Her favorite story

To the question: what is the part of the Bible that you treasure the most and why?  She answered:  'I most treasure the birth narrative found in the gospel of Luke.  I have  very fond memories of a church service during each Advent season when our small church would decorate the sanctuary for Christmas.  My family's job was to place  the  Nativity set in the altar.  My dad, my brother and I would  place Joseph, Mary and the Child at the front of the church while my mother would read the story of Jesus' birth as found in Luke.  To this day  Luke has been my favorite gospel.'

When asked about how to address people who have doubts about God, she responded:  'I tell them the good news is that God never looses us. Even when we feel as if there can not possibly be a God,  He is right there with us. God's grace is an overwhelmingly powerful and beautiful thing.  God can do amazing things with what we would consider the most ordinary circumstances.'

           Firm believer in participation

She is a firm believer that church members should come to church and be active participants not only on Sunday school activities but in all the programs.  In regard to this point she commented:  'The best thing people can do for their church is to get involved.  When I say to get involved I mean going to Sunday school, studying the bible, asking  questions, teaching a class, visiting the elderly, caring for the homeless, participating in the different programs the church is sponsoring, singing in the choir and using the talents God has given them.  There are countless ways people can get involved in their church, their community and in the world.  Every one can make a difference in the world, but you need to get in there and be active, participate, and get results.'

In her early teen years Rev. Angel was an exchange student in a South American country.  She commented:  'I have been in Paraguay.  Not as a missionary, but as an exchange student when I was fifteen. It was a great time in my life.  I was sponsored by the Rotary Club and spent several months in a small town between Paraguay and Brazil.  That was one of the most crucial moments in my life, making me realize who I was and  accepting myself as I was and creating goals in my life.'

Plans for the future

As to having plans for the future, Rev. Angel expressed: 'I will continue serving the Lord in the capacity that I can best serve:  counseling people, supporting the church programs, raising my family and bringing the Good News to every one I meet.  On Tuesdays my office will be open for counseling.  Other times I will be visiting the members in need, other times I will be helping in planning and running the worship services, or helping in creating or developing programs in the Christian education areas.  Some other times I will help Pat Handlson in the services on Sundays or sit in for him during his absence.  Also,  I will be helping with the Presbyterian Students Association (PSA) at Tennessee Tech University in conjunction with Pat Handlson.

According to Minister Handlson,  Erin has been already quite active performing these roles since last August.  She has already  demonstrated being an asset to the Presbyterian Parish.

Prepared by Eliseo Ríos, Deacon

Erin Angel:

E-mail: angelsfour@frontiernet.net