Kathy

Rev. Kathy Randall Bryant began her ministry of service under appointment with the Western North Carolina Conference in 2011. She has served four previous congregations as solo pastor and as an associate with two congregations. Prior to graduating from Duke Divinity School, she served three summers in camp ministry in Georgia, in internships with four churches, at the VA in Durham as a student chaplain, produced a research project for a housing non-profit, volunteered in youth ministry at her local churches, and served as a Public Health and HIV/AIDS educator with the Peace Corps.

In partnership with the churches she has served in ministry she has planted gardens, coordinated vacation bible schools, led bible studies, written innumerable liturgies for prayer and contemplation, visited the sick and homebound, brought communion to more places than she can count, created a YouTube series on faith formation for those young and young at heart, administered the life of the church, practiced leadership in community via consensus, and listened to stories.

Rev. Kathy loves stories. She loves hearing the story of the community and the individual stories of each of the members. The stories that we tell shape us as persons and as a people. The stories that we tell make us who we are. Every new story, and stories retold over and over again, build connections and relationships between people.

“I believe that everyone is worthy of love and has a story to tell. For me, preaching is a form of storytelling, because I always want to find how a story holds love and grace together.”

Rev. Kathy and her partner, John, are both ordained Elders in the WNCC, and they have two kids. In her free time, Kathy enjoys finding live music, discovering a new favorite book, listening to stories, hiking on nature trails, writing reflections about life, and joining in with a local yoga practice.

She is grateful for the people of God at Summerfield Peace UMC. Partnering together in ministry with the people of this particular place through the power of the Holy Spirit, discovering together what God continues to do in the Summerfield, and growing together as disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world continues to be a blessing. Together, we make God’s love real for all people.